G  000  083  229  5 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


Inaugural  Addresses 

of  the 

Presidents  of  the  United  States  from 
Washington  to  Lincoln 


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Unit 

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1 

PORTRAIT     OF     GEORGE     WASHINGTON      : 

AFTER     PAlNTir^G     SV     GILBERT     STUART 

JOHN  VANCE  CHENLV 

1 

1 

*    OTbi  %akt4ibt  pK^^y  Cbicago 

r           R.  DON>                           NS  COMPANY 

\                                   ' .„MIV 

[ 

STfie  Eaftesilre  ffllassics 


Inaugural  Addresses 

of  the 

Presidents  of  the  United  States 

from  Washington  to 

Lincoln 


EDITED  BY 

JOHN  VANCE  CHENEY 


R.  R.  DONNELLEY  &  SONS  COMPANY 

CHRISTMAS,  MCMIV 


J8  I 

ContentjS 


13 


The  Declaration  of  Independence — 
1776       ------ 

George  Washington 

First  Inaugural  Aiddress    -         -         - 
Second  Inaugural  Address     -        -  21 

John  Adams 

Inaugural  Address  -         -         -        -       23 

Thomas  Jefferson 

First  Inaugural  Address         -         -  33 

Second  Inaugural  Address         -         -      41 

James  Madison 

First  Inaugural  Address       -         -  51 

Second  Inaugural  Address         -        -       57 

James  Monroe 

First  Inaugural  Address        -         -  63 

Second  Inaugural  Address         -        -       79 

John  Quincy  Adams 

Inaugural  Address        -         -         _  qq 

Andrew  Jackson 

First  Inaugural  Address  -        -     113 

Second  Inaugural  Address     -        -         119 


Content^ 


125 


AIartix  Van  Buren 

Inaugural  Address  - 

William  Henry  Harrison 

Inaugi-iral  Address        -        -        -         143 

John  Tyler 

Inaugural  Address  -         -         -        -     179 

James  K.  Polk 

Inaugural  Address       -         -         -         187 

Zachary  Taylor 

Inaugural  Address  -         -         -         -     209 
Franklin  Pierce 

Inaugural  Address       -         -         -         215 

James  Buchanan 

Inaugural  Address  -         -         -     231 

Abraham  Lincoln 

First  Inaugural  Address       -        -  245 

Second  Inaugural  Address        -        -     261 

Constitution  of  the  United  States 

— 1787 267 

Amendments  TO  THE  Constitution        -    291 


SlntroDuctton 


THE  success  of  the  initial  volume  of  the 
Lakeside  Classics  was  so  marked  that 
the  publishers  can  bespeak  no  kinder  re- 
ception for  the  second.  It  was  issued  as  an 
example  of  the  moderate-priced  but  tasteful 
machine-made  book  in  contrast  to  elaborate 
hand-made  editions  de  luxe,  and  it  met  with  an 
appreciation  on  the  part  of  the  public  even 
heartier  than  was  anticipated.  The  publishers 
may,  therefore,  be  pardoned  for  taking  pride 
in  the  production  of  a  book  which,  in  taste 
and  workmanship,  met  the  exacting  require- 
ments of  the  book-lover,  but  which  was  printed 
and  bound  on  machines  built  primarily  for  the 
reduction  of  cost. 

The  quaint,  shrewd  common-sense  of  Ben 
Frankhn  suited  well  the  modest  but  honest 
dress  in  which  the  book  was  presented,  and  as 
by  necessity  the  dress  must  again  be  cut  from 
the  same  cloth,  it  seems  fitting  that  again  the 
clothes  should  introduce  a  book  of  solid  worth. 
In  selecting  the  Inaugural  Addresses  of  the 
Presidents  from  Washington  to  Lincoln,  it  is 
hoped  that  these  requirements  have  again  been 
fulfilled.  As  these  Addresses  were  delivered 
before  the  Presidents  took  the  oath  of  office, 
they  are  not,  in  all  cases,  made  part  of  the 
Congressional  Record;  nor  have  they  been,  to 


^Fntrotiuction 


our  knowledge,  before  printed  together,  unac- 
companied by  matter  other  than  the  Declaration 
and  the  Constitution.  They  present  a  contem- 
poraneous history  of  our  political  philosophy 
from  the  beginning  of  our  republic  down  to 
that  great  struggle  which  was  to  prove  to  the 
doubting  world  whether  or  not  our  theories  of 
government  could  withstand  internal  discord. 
Perhaps  no  period  of  the  world's  history  is 
of  more  interest  to  the  political  student  than 
this — v/hen  we  were  putting  into  practice  the 
theories  of  a  decreed  government;  and  in  this 
little  volume  we  have  a  history  of  it  written  by 
those  men  who  were  chosen  by  the  people  of 
their  time  as  best  fitted  to  be  leaders  in  work- 
ing out  the  problems  of  their  day. 

The  publishers  wish  to  express  their  appre- 
ciation of  the  valuable  assistance  of  Mr.  John 
Vance  Cheney,  Librarian  of  the  Newberry 
Library,  who  suggested  the  subject  of  the  book, 
and  who  has  acted  as  editor.  Especial  care 
has  been  taken  to  copy  exactly  the  Addresses 
as  they  appear  in  the  compilation  authorized 
by  Congress,  August  20,  1894. 

It  is  the  hope  of  the  publishers  that  this 
little  volume  will  be  prized,  both  as  an  example 
of  practical  but  tasteful  book-making  and  for 
the  intrinsic  value  of  its  contents. 

THE    PUBLISHERS. 

Christmas,  1904. 


The   Declaration  of 
Independence 


€6e  2Dedaratt0n  of  S^nliepeiUience 

1776 


In  Congress,  July  4,  1776. 

The    unanimous    Declaration   of    the    thirteen 
united  States  of  America, 

WHEN  in  the  Course  of  human  events, 
it  becomes  necessary  for  one  people 
to  dissolve  the  political  bands  which 
have  connected  thein  with  another,  and  to 
assume  among  the  Powers  of  the  earth,  the 
separate  and  equal  station  to  which  the  Laws 
of  Nature  and  of  Nature's  God  entitle  them, 
a  decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of  mankind 
requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes 
which  impel  them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that 
all  men  are  created  equal,  that  they  are  en- 
dowed by  their  Creator  with  certain  unalien- 
able Rights,  that  among  these  are  Life, 
Liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  Happiness.  That 
to  secure  these  rights,  Governments  are  insti- 
tuted among  Men,  deriving  their  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed,  That 
whenever  any  Form  of  Government  becomes 
destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  Right  of 
the  People  to  alter  or  to  abolish  it,  and  to  insti- 
tute new  Government,  laying  its  foundation  on 
such  principles  and  organizing  its  powers  in 


€J)e  2DecIaration  of  S^nDcpenlicncc 

such  form,  as  to  them  shall  seem  most  likely 
to  effect  their  Safety  and  Happiness.  Pru- 
dence, indeed,  will  dictate  that  Governments 
long  established  should  not  be  changed  for 
light  and  transient  causes;  and  accordingly 
all  experience  hath  shown,  that  mankind  are 
more  disposed  to  suffer,  while  evils  are  suffer- 
ab!e,  than  to  right  themselves  by  abolishing 
the  forms  to  which  they  are  accustomed.  But 
when  a  long  train  of  abuses  and  usurpations, 
pursuing  invariably  the  same  Object  evinces 
a  design  to  reduce  them  under  absolute  Des- 
potism, it  is  their  right,  it  is  their  duty,  to 
throw  off  such  Government,  and  to  provide 
new  Guards  for  their  future  security. — Such 
has  been  the  patient  sufferance  of  these  Colo- 
nies; and  such  is  now  the  necessity  which 
constrains  them  to  alter  their  former  Systems 
of  Government.  The  history  of  the  present 
King  of  Great  Britain  is  a  history  of  repeated 
injuries  and  usurpations,  all  having  in  direct 
object  the  establishment  of  an  absolute 
Tyranny  over  these  States.  To  prove  this, 
let  Facts  be  submitted  to  a  candid  world. 

He  has  refused  his  Assent  to  Laws,  the  most 
wholesome  and  necessary  for  the  public  good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  Governors  to  pass 
Laws  of  immediate  and  pressing  importance, 
unless  'suspended  in  their  operation  till  his 
Assent  should  be  obtained;  and  when  so  sus- 
pended, he  has  utterly  neglected  to  attend  to 
them. 


€t)e  gperiaration  of  S^ntiepetUience 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  Laws  for  the 
accommodation  of  large  districts  of  people, 
unless  those  people  would  relinquish  the  right  of 
Representation  in  the  Legislature,  a  right  inesti- 
mable to  them  and  formidable  to  tyrants  only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at 
places  unusual,  uncomfortable,  and  distant 
from  the  depository  of  their  Public  Records, 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing  them  into 
compliance  with  his  measures. 

He  has  dissolved  Representative  Houses 
repeatedly,  for  opposing  with  manly  firmness 
his  invasions  on  the  rights  of  the  people. 

He  has  refused  for  a  long  time,  after  such 
dissolutions,  to  cause  others  to  be  elected; 
whereby  the  Legislative  Powers,  incapable  of 
Annihilation,  have  returned  to  the  People  at 
large  for  their  exercise;  the  State  remaining 
in  the  mean  time  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of 
invasion  from  without,  and  convulsions  within. 

He  has  endeavoured  to  prevent  the  popula- 
tion of  these  States;  for  that  purpose  obstruct- 
ing the  LavvTs  for  Naturalization  of  Foreigners ; 
refusing  to  pass  others  to  encourage  their 
migration  hither,  and  raising  the  conditions  of 
new  Appropriations  of  Lands. 

He  has  obstructed  the  Administration  of 
Justice,  by  refusing  his  Assent  to  Laws  for 
estabhshing  Judiciary  Powers. 

He  has  made  Judges  dependent  on  his  Will 
alone,  for  the  tenure  of  their  offices,  and  the 
amount  and  payment  of  their  salaries. 


€t)e  SDeclaration  of  g^nbepcntience 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  New  Offices, 
and  sent  hither  swarms  of  Officers  to  harass 
our  People,  and  eat  out  their  substance. 

He  has  kept  among  us,  in  times  of  peace, 
Standing  Armies  without  the  Consent  of  our 
legislature. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  Military  inde- 
pendent of  and  superior  to  the  Civil  Power. 

He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us 
to  a  jurisdiction  foreign  to  our  constitution, 
and  unacknowledged  by  our  laws;  giving  his 
Assent  to  their  acts  of  pretended  Legisla- 
tion: 

For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops 
among  us: 

For  protecting  them,  by  a  mock  Trial,  from 
Punishment  for  any  Murders  which  they  should 
commit  on  the  Inhabitants  of  these  States: 

For  cutting  off  our  Trade  with  all  parts  of 
the  world: 

For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  Con- 
sent : 

For  depriving  us  in  many  cases,  of  the  bene- 
fits of  Trial  by  Jury: 

For  transporting  us  beyond  Seas  to  be  tried 
for  pretended  offences: 

For  aboHshing  the  free  System  of  English 
Laws  in  a  neighbouring  Province,  establishing 
therein  an  Arbitrary  government,  and  enlar- 
ging its  Boundaries  so  as  to  render  it  at  once 
an  example  and  lit  instrument  for  introducing 
the  same  absolute  rule  into  these  Colonies: 


Cfte  2DecIaration  of  S^ntiepentience 

For  taking  away  our  Charters,  abolishing 
our  most  valuable  Laws,  and  altering  funda- 
mentally the  Forms  of  our  Government: 

For  suspending  our  own  Legislature,  and 
declaring  themselves  invested  with  Power  to 
legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  Government  here,  by  de- 
claring us  out  of  his  Protection  and  waging 
War  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our 
Coasts,  burnt  our  towns,  and  destroyed  the 
lives  of  our  people. 

He  is  at  this  time  transporting  large  armies 
of  foreign  mercenaries  to  compleat  the  works 
of  death,  desolation  and  tyranny,  already 
begun  with  circumstances  of  Cruelty  &  per- 
fidy scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous 
ages,  and  totally  unworthy  the  Head  of  a 
civilized  nation. 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow  Citizens  taken 
Captive  on  the  high  Seas  to  bear  Arms  against 
their  Country,  to  become  the  executioners  of 
their  friends  and  Brethren,  or  to  fall  themselves 
by  their  Hands. 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrections 
amongst  us,  and  has  endeavoured  to  bring  on 
the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers,  the  merciless 
Indian  Savages,  whose  known  rule  of  warfare, 
is  an  undistinguished  destruction  of  all  ages, 
sexes  and  conditions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  Oppressions  We 
have  Petitioned  for  Redress  in  the  most  hum- 


€f)e  a)eclaratian  of  S^ntiepenbence 

ble  terms:  Our  repeated  Petitions  have  been 
answered  only  by  repeated  injury.  A  Prince, 
whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every  act 
which  may  define  a  Tyrant,  is  unfit  to  be  the 
ruler  of  a  free  People. 

Nor  have  We  been  wanting  in  attention  to 
our  Brittish  brethren.  We  have  warned  them 
from  time  to  time  of  attempts  by  their  legisla- 
ture to  extend  an  unwarrantable  jurisdiction 
over  us.  We  have  reminded  them  of  the  cir- 
cumstances of  our  emigration  and  settlement 
here.  We  have  appealed  to  their  native  justice 
and  magnanimity,  and  we  have  conjured  them 
by  the  ties  of  our  common  kindred  to  disavow 
these  usurpations,  which,  would  inevitably  in- 
terrupt our  connections  and  correspondence 
They  too  have  been  deaf  to  the  voice  of 
justice  and  of  consanguinity.  We  must, 
therefore,  acquiesce  in  the  necessity,  which 
denounces  our  Separation,  and  hold  them,  as 
we  hold  the  rest  of  mankind.  Enemies  in  War, 
in  Peace  Friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  Representatives  of  the 
united  States  of  America,  in  General  Con- 
gress, Assembled,  appealing  to  the  Supreme 
Judge  of  the  world  for  the  rectitude  of  our 
intentions,  do,  in  the  Name,  and  by  Authority 
of  the  good  People  of  these  Colonies,  solemnly 
publish  and  declare,  That  these  United  Colo- 
nies are,  and  of  Right  ought  to  be  Free  and 
Independent  States;  that  they  are  Absolved 
from  all  Allegiance  to  the  British  Crown,  and 

8 


€1)0  2DecIatation  of  S^nDepenDence 

that  all  political  connection  between  them  and 
the  State  of  Great  Britain,  is  and  ought  to  be 
totally  dissolved;  and  that  as  Free  and  Inde- 
pendent States,  they  have  full  Power  to  levy 
War,  conclude  Peace,  contract  Alliances, 
establish  Commerce,  and  to  do  all  other  Acts 
and  Things  which  Independent  States  may  of 
right  do.  And  for  the  support  of  this  Declara- 
tion, with  a  firm  rehance  on  the  Protection  of 
Divine  Providence,  we  mutually  pledge  to  each 
other  our  Lives,  our  Fortunes  and  our  sacred 
Honor. 

John  Hancock 
New  Hampshire 

JosiAH  Bartlett  Matthew  Thornton 

Wm.  Whipple 

Massachusetts  Bay 

Saml.  Adams  Robt.  Treat  Paine 

John  Adams  Elbridge  Gerry 

Rhode  Island 
Step.  Hopkins  William  Ellery 

Connecticut 
Roger  Sherman  Wm.  Williams 

Sam'el  Huntington  Oliver  Wolcott 

New  York 

Wm.  Floyd  Frans.  Lewis 

Phil.  Livingston  Lewis  Morris 

New  Jersey 
Rich'd.  Stockton  John  Hart 

iNo.  Witherspoon  Abra.  Clark 

■"ras.  Hopkinson 

Pennsylvania 
Robt.  Morris  Jas  Smith 

Benjamin  Rush  Geo.  Taylor 

Benja.  Franklin  James  Wilson 

John  Morton  Geo.  Ross 

Geo.  Clymer 


€bt  SDecIaration  of  ^FnDepentience 


Delaware 
CAESAR  Rodney  Tho.  M'Kean 

Geo.  Read 

Maryland 

Samuel  Chase  Thos.  Stone 

Wm.  Paca  Charles  Carroll  of 

Carrollton 

Virginia 

George  Wythe  Thos.  Nelson,  jr. 

Richard  Henry  Lee  Francis  Lightfoot  Lee 

Th.  Jefferson  Carter  Braxton 
Benja.  Harrison 

North  Carolina 

Wm.  Hooper  John  Penn 

Joseph  Hewes 

South  Carolina 

Edward  Rutledge  Thomas  Lynch,  Junr. 

Thos.  Heyward,  Junr.  Arthur  Middleton 

Georgia 
Button  Gwinnett  Geo.  Walton 

Lyman  Hall 


10 


Inaugural  Addresses 


(Keorge  majil^fngton 

FIRST  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

IN   THE   CITY   OF   NEW   YORK 


April  30,  1789. 

Fellow-Citizens  of  the  Senate  and  of  the 
House  of  Representatives: 

AMONG  the  vicissitudes  incident  to  life 
no  event  could  have  filled  me  with 
greater  anxieties  than  that  of  which  the 
notification  was  transmitted  by  your  order, 
and  received  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the 
present  month.  On  the  one  hand,  I  was  sum- 
moned by  my  country,  whose  voice  I  can  never 
hear  but  with  veneration  and  love,  from  a  re- 
treat which  I  had  chosen  with  the  fondest 
predilection,  and,  in  my  flattering  hopes,  with 
an  immutable  decision,  as  the  asylum  of  my 
declining  years — a  retreat  which  was  rendered 
every  day  more  necessary  as  well  as  more  dear 
to  me  by  the  addition  of  habit  to  inclination, 
and  of  frequent  interruptions  in  my  health  to 
the  gradual  waste  committed  on  it  by  time. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  magnitude  and  diffi- 
culty of  the  trust  to  which  the  voice  of  my 
country  called  me,  being  sufficient  to  awaken 
in  the  wisest  and  most  experienced  of  her 
citizens  a  distrustful  scrutiny  into  his  qualifica- 
tions, could  not  but  overwhelm  with  despond- 

13 


S^naugural  aDUre^^eiB? 


ence  one  who  (inheriting  inferior  endowments 
from  nature  and  unpracticed  in  the  duties  of 
civil  administration)  ought  to  be  pecuHarly 
conscious  of  his  own  deficiencies.  In  this 
conflict  of  emotions  all  I  dare  aver  is  that  it 
has  been  my  faithful  study  to  collect  my  duty 
from  a  just  appreciation  of  every  circumstance 
by  which  it  might  be  affected.  All  I  dare 
hope  is  that  if,  in  executing  this  task,  I  have 
been  too  much  swayed  by  a  grateful  remem- 
brance of  former  instances,  or  by  an  affection- 
ate sensibility  to  this  transcendent  proof  of 
the  confidence  of  my  fellow-citizens,  and  have 
thence  too  little  consulted  my  incapacity  as 
well  as  disinclination  for  the  weighty  and 
untried  cares  before  me,  my  error  will  be 
palliated  by  the  motives  which  mislead  me, 
and  its  consequences  be  judged  by  my  coun- 
try with  some  share  of  the  partiality  in  which 
they  originated. 

Such  being  the  impressions  under  which  I 
have,  in  obedience  to  the  pubhc  summons, 
repaired  to  the  present  station,  it  would  be 
peculiarly  improper  to  omit  in  this  first  official 
act  my  fervent  supplications  to  that  Almighty 
Being  who  rules  over  the  universe,  who  pre- 
sides in  the  councils  of  nations,  and  whose 
providential  aids  can  supply  every  human 
defect,  that  His  benediction  may  consecrate 
to  the  liberties  and  happiness  of  the  people  of 
the  United  States  a  Government  instituted  by 
themselves  for  these  essential  purposes,   and 

14 


oBcorge  l©aiB?ftingtpn 


may  enable  every  instrument  employed  in  its 
administration  to  execute  with  success  the 
functions  allotted  to  his  charge.  In  tendering 
this  homage  to  the  Great  Author  of  every 
public  and  private  good,  I  assure  myself  that 
it  expresses  your  sentiments  not  less  than  my 
own,  nor  those  of  my  fellow-citizens  at  large 
less  than  either.  No  people  can  be  bound  to 
acknowledge  and  adore  the  Invisible  Hand 
which  conducts  the  affairs  of  men  more  than 
those  of  the  United  States.  Every  step  by 
which  they  have  advanced  to  the  character  of 
an  independent  nation  seems  to  have  been  dis- 
tinguished by  some  token  of  providential 
agency;  and  in  the  important  revolution  just 
accomplished  in  the  system  of  their  united  gov- 
ernment, the  tranquil  deliberations  and  volun- 
tary consent  of  so  many  distinct  communities 
from  which  the  event  has  resulted  cannot  be 
compared  with  the  means  by  which  most  gov- 
ernments have  been  established  without  some 
return  of  pious  gratitude,  along  with  an  hum- 
ble anticipation  of  the  future  blessings  which 
the  past  seem  to  presage.  These  reflections, 
arising  out  of  the  present  crisis,  have  forced 
themselves  too  strongly  on  my  mind  to  be 
suppressed.  You  will  join  with  me,  I  trust, 
in  thinking  that  there  are  none  under  the 
influence  of  which  the  proceedings  of  a  new 
and  free  government  can  more  auspiciously 
commence. 

By  the  article  establishing  the  executive  de- 

15 


3^naugutal  ^txbtt^^t^ 


partment  it  is  made  the  duty  of  the  President 
**to  recommend  to  your  consideration  such 
measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  ex- 
pedient." The  circumstances  under  which  I 
now  meet  you  will  acquit  me  from  entering 
into  that  subject  further  than  to  refer  to  the 
great  constitutional  charter  under  which  you 
are  assembled,  and  which,  in  defining  your 
powers,  designates  the  objects  to  which  your 
attention  is  to  be  given.  It  will  be  more  con- 
sistent with  those  circumstances,  and  far  more 
congenial  with  the  feelings  which  actuate  me, 
to  substitute,  in  place  of  a  recommendation  of 
particular  measures,  the  tribute  that  is  due  to 
the  talents,  the  rectitude,  and  the  patriotism 
which  adorn  the  characters  selected  to  devise 
and  adopt  them.  In  these  honorable  qualifi- 
cations I  behold  the  surest  pledges  that  as  on 
one  side  no  local  prejudices  or  attachments, 
no  separate  views  nor  party  animosities,  will 
misdirect  the  comprehensive  and  equal  eye 
which  ought  to  watch  over  this  great  assem- 
blage of  communities  and  interests,  so,  on 
another,  that  the  foundation  of  our  national 
policy  will  be  laid  in  the  pure  and  immutable 
principles  of  private  morality,  and  the  pre- 
eminence of  free  government  be  exemplified  by 
all  the  attributes  which  can  win  the  affections 
of  its  citizens  and  command  the  respect  of  the 
world.  I  dwell  on  this  prospect  with  every 
satisfaction  which  an  ardent  love  for  my  coun- 
try can  inspire,  since  there  is  no  truth  more 

i6 


<Deorge  Wa^t^instcn 


thoroughly  estabUshed  than  that  there  exists 
in  the  economy  and  course  of  nature  an  indis- 
soluble union  between  virtue  and  happiness; 
between  duty  and  advantage;  between  the 
genuine  maxims  of  an  honest  and  magnani- 
mous policy  and  the  solid  rewards  of  public 
prosperity  and  felicity;  since  we  ought  to  be  no 
less  persuaded  that  the  propitious  smiles  of 
Heaven  can  never  be  expected  on  a  nation 
that  disregards  the  eternal  rules  of  order  and 
right  which  Heaven  itself  has  ordained;  and 
since  the  preservation  of  the  sacred  fire  of 
liberty  and  the  destiny  of  the  republican  model 
of  government  are  justly  considered,  perhaps, 
as  deeply,  as  finally,  staked  on  the  experiment 
intrusted  to  the  hands  of  the  American  people. 
Besides  the  ordinary  objects  submitted  to 
your  care,  it  will  remain  with  your  judgment 
to  decide  how  far  an  exercise  of  the  occasional 
power  delegated  by  the  fifth  article  of  the 
Constitution  is  rendered  expedient  at  the  pres- 
ent juncture  by  the  nature  of  objections  which 
have  been  urged  against  the  system,  or  by  the 
degree  of  inquietude  which  has  given  birth  to 
them.  Instead  of  undertaking  particular 
recommendations  on  this  subject,  in  which  I 
could  be  guided  by  no  lights  derived  from 
official  opportunities,  I  shall  again  give  way 
to  my  entire  confidence  in  your  discernment 
and  pursuit  of  the  public  good;  for  I  assure 
myself  that  whilst  you  carefully  avoid  every 
alteration  which  might  endanger  the  benefits 

17 


S^iiaugural  aDDte^^e^ 


of  an  united  and  effective  government,  or 
which  ought  to  await  the  future  lessons  of 
experience,  a  reverence  for  the  characteristic 
rights  of  freemen  and  a  regard  for  the  pubHc 
harmony  will  sufficiently  influence  your  deliber- 
ations on  the  question  how  far  the  former  can 
be  impregnably  fortified  or  the  latter  be  safely 
and  advantageously  promoted. 

To  the  foregoing  observations  I  have  one  to 
add,  which  will  be  most  properly  addressed  to 
the  House  of  Representatives.  It  concerns 
myself,  and  will  therefore  be  as  brief  as  pos- 
sible. When  I  was  first  honored  with  a  call 
into  the  service  of  my  country,  then  on  the 
eve  of  an  arduous  struggle  for  its  liberties, 
the  light  in  which  I  contemplated  my  duty 
required  that  I  should  renounce  every  pecuni- 
ary compensation.  From  this  resolution  I 
have  in  no  instance  departed;  and  being  still 
under  the  impressions  which  produced  it,  I 
must  decline  as  inapplicable  to  myself  any 
share  in  the  personal  emoluments  which  may 
be  indispensably  included  in  a  permanent  pro- 
vision for  the  executive  department,  and  must 
accordingly  pray  that  the  pecuniary  estimates 
for  the  station  in  which  I  am  placed  may, 
during  my  continuance  in  it,  be  limited  to  such 
actual  expenditures  as  the  public  good  may  be 
thought  to  require. 

Having  thus  imparted  to  you  my  sentiments 
as  they  have  been  awakened  by  the  occasion 
which  brings  us  together,  I  shall  take  my  pres- 

i8 


oBeorge  l©a^l)mgton 


ent  leave;  but  not  without  resorting  once  more 
to  the  benign  Parent  of  the  Human  Race  in 
humble  supplication  that,  since  He  has  been 
pleased  to  favor  the  American  people  with 
opportunities  for  deliberating  in  perfect  tran- 
quillity, and  dispositions  for  deciding  with  un- 
paralleled unanimity  on  a  form  of  government 
for  the  security  of  their  union  and  the  advance- 
ment of  their  happiness,  so  His  divine  blessing 
may  be  equally  conspicuous  in  the  enlarged 
views,  the  temperate  consultations,  and  the 
wise  measures  on  which  the  success  of  this 
Government  must  depend. 


19 


SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

IN  THE   CITY   OF  PHILADELPHIA,   PA. 


FELLOW-CITIZENS:  I  am  again  called 
upon  by  the  voice  of  my  country  to  ex- 
ecute the  functions  of  its  Chief  Magis- 
istrate.  When  the  occasion  proper  for  it 
shall  arrive,  I  shall  endeavor  to  express  the 
high  sense  I  entertain  of  this  distinguished 
honor,  and  of  the  confidence  which  has  been 
reposed  in  me  by  the  people  of  united  America. 

Previous  to  the  execution  of  any  official  act 
of  the  President,  the  Constitution  requires  an 
oath  of  office.  This  oath  I  am  now  about  to 
take,  and  in  your  presence:  That  if  it  shall  be 
found  during  my  administration  of  the  Gov- 
ernment I  have  in  any  instance  violated  will- 
ingly or  knowingly  the  injunctions  thereof,  I 
may  (besides  incurring  constitutional  punish- 
ment) be  subject  to  the  upbraidings  of  all  who 
are  now  witnesses  of  the  present  solemn  cere- 
mony. 

March  4,  1793. 


21 


INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

IN   THE   CITY   OF    PHILADELPHIA,   PA. 


WHEN  it  was  first  perceived,  in  early 
times,  that  no  middle  course  for 
America  remained  between  unlimited 
submission  to  a  foreign  legislature  and  a  total 
independence  of  its  claims,  men  of  reflection 
were  less  apprehensive  of  danger  from  the 
formidable  power  of  fleets  and  armies  they 
must  determine  to  resist  than  from  those  con- 
tests and  dissensions  which  would  certainly 
arise  concerning  the  forms  of  government  to 
be  instituted  over  the  whole  and  over  the  parts 
of  this  extensive  country.  Relying,  however, 
on  the  purity  of  their  intentions,  the  justice  of 
their  cause,  and  the  integrity  and  intelligence 
of  the  people,  under  an  overruling  Providence 
which  had  so  signally  protected  this  country 
from  the  first,  the  representatives  of  this  na- 
tion, then  consisting  of  little  more  than  half  its 
present  number,  not  only  broke  to  pieces  the 
chains  which  were  forging  and  the  rod  of  iron 
that  was  lifted  up,  but  frankly  cut  asunder  the 
ties  which  had  bound  them,  and  launched  into 
an  ocean  of  uncertainty. 

The  zeal  and  ardor  of  the  people  during  the 
Revolutionarv  War,    supplying  the    place   of 

21 


9^nau0ural  ^iDtire^^c^ 


government,  commanded  a  degree  of  order 
sufficient  at  least  for  the  temporary  preserva- 
tion of  society.  The  Confederation  which 
was  early  felt  to  be  necessary  was  prepared 
from  the  models  of  the  Batavian  and  Helvetic 
confederacies,  the  only  examples  which  remain 
with  any  detail  and  precision  in  history,  and 
certainly  the  only  ones  which  the  people  at 
large  had  ever  considered.  But  reflecting  on 
the  striking  difference  in  so  many  particulars 
between  this  country  and  those  where  a  courier 
may  go  from  the  seat  of  government  to  the 
^frontier  in  a  single  day,  it  was  then  certainly 
foreseen  by  some  who  assisted  in  Congress  at 
the  formation  of  it  that  it  could  not  be  durable. 

Negligence  of  its  regulations,  inattention  to 
its  recommendations,  if  not  disobedience  to  its 
authority,  not  only  in  individuals,  but  in  States, 
soon  appeared  with  their  melancholy  conse- 
quences— universal  languor,  jealousies  and 
rivalries  of  States,  decline  of  navigation  and 
commerce,  discouragement  of  necessary  manu- 
factures, universal  fall  in  the  value  of  lands 
and  their  produce,  contempt  of  public  and 
private  faith,  loss  of  consideration  and  credit 
with  foreign  nations,  and  at  length,  in  discon- 
tents, animosities,  combinations,  partial  con- 
ventions, and  insurrection,  threatening  some 
great  national  calamity. 

In  this  dangerous  crisis  the  people  of 
America  were  not  abandoned  by  their  usual 
good  sense,  presence   of  mind,  resolution,   or 

24 


3^ol)n  aDamjsr 


integrity.  Measures  were  pursued  to  concert 
a  plan  to  form  a  more  perfect  union,  establish 
justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide 
for  the  common  defense,  promote  the  general 
welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty. 
The  public  disquisitions,  discussions,  and  delib- 
erations issued  in  the  present  happy  Constitu- 
tion of  Government. 

Employed  in  the  service  of  my  country 
abroad  during  the  whole  course  of  these  tran- 
sactions, I  first  saw  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  in  a  foreign  country.  Irritated 
by  no  literary  altercation,  animated  by  no  pub- 
lic debate,  heated  by  no  party  animosity,  I 
read  it  with  great  satisfaction,  as  the  result  of 
good  heads  prompted  by  good  hearts,  as  an 
experiment  better  adapted  to  the  genius,  char- 
acter, situation,  and  relations  of  this  nation 
and  country  than  any  which  had  ever  been 
proposed  or  suggested.  In  its  general  prin- 
ciples and  great  outlines  it  was  conformable  to 
such  a  system  of  government  as  I  had  ever 
most  esteemed,  and  in  some  States,  my  own 
native  State  in  particular,  had  contributed  to 
establish.  Claiming  a  right  of  suffrage,  in 
common  with  my  fellow-citizens,  in  the  adop- 
tion or  rejection  of  a  constitution  which  was 
to  rule  me  and  my  posterity,  as  well  as  them 
and  theirs,  I  did  not  hesitate  to  express  my 
approbation  of  it  on  all  occasions,  in  public 
and  in  private.  It  was  not  then,  nor  has  been 
since,  any  objection  to  it  in  my  mind  that  the 

25 


S^naugural  a^HDre^^e^ef 


Executive  and  Senate  were  not  more  perma- 
nent. Nor  have  I  ever  entertained  a  thought 
of  promoting  any  alteration  in  it  but  such  as 
the  people  themselves,  in  the  course  of  their 
experience,  should  see  and  feel  to  be  necessary 
or  expedient,  and  by  their  representatives  in 
Congress  and  the  State  legislatures,  according 
to  the  Constitution  itself,  adopt  and  ordain. 

Returning  to  the  bosom  of  my  country  after 
a  painful  separation  from  it  for  ten  years,  I 
had  the  honor  to  be  elected  to  a  station  under 
the  new  order  of  things,  and  I  have  repeatedly 
laid  myself  under  the  most  serious  obligations 
to  support  the  Constitution.  The  operation 
of  it  has  equaled  the  most  sanguine  expecta- 
tions of  its  friends,  and  from  an  habitual 
attention  to  it,  satisfaction  in  its  administra- 
tion, and  delight  in  its  effects  upon  the  peace, 
order,  prosperity,  and  happiness  of  the  nation 
I  have  acquired  an  habitual  attachment  to  it 
and  veneration  for  it. 

What  other  form  of  government,  indeed, 
can  so  well  deserve  our  esteem  and  love.? 

There  may  be  little  solidity  in  an  ancient 
idea  that  congregations  of  men  into  cities  and 
nations  are  the  most  pleasing  objects  in  the 
sight  of  superior  intelligences,  but  this  is  very 
certain,  that  to  a  benevolent  human  mind  there 
can  be  no  spectacle  presented  by  any  nation 
more  pleasing,  more  noble,  majestic,  or  august, 
than  an  assembly  like  that  which  has  so  often 
been  seen  in  this  and  the  other  Chamber  of  Con- 


26 


3ol^n  aDam^ 


gress,  of  a  Government  in  which  the  Executive 
authority,  as  well  as  that  of  all  the  branches 
of  the  Legislature,  are  exercised  by  citizens 
selected  at  regular  periods  by  their  neighbors 
to  make  and  execute  laws  for  the  general  good. 
Can  anything  essential,  anything  more  than 
mere  ornament  and  decoration,  be  added  to 
this  by  robes  and  diamonds?  Can  authority  be 
more  amiable  and  respectable  when  it  descends 
from  accidents  or  institutions  established  in 
remote  antiquity  than  when  it  springs  fresh 
from  the  hearts  and  judgments  of  an  honest 
and  enlightened  people?  For  it  is  the  people 
only  that  are  represented.  It  is  their  power 
and  majesty  that  is  reflected,  and  only  for  their 
good,  in  every  legitimate  government,  under 
whatever  form  it  may  appear.  The  existence 
of  such  a  government  as  ours  for  any  length 
of  time  is  a  full  proof  of  a  general  dissemina- 
tion of  knowledge  and  virtue  throughout  the 
whole  body  of  the  people.  And  what  object 
or  consideration  more  pleasing  than  this  can 
be  presented  to  the  human  mind?  If  national 
pride  is  ever  justifiable  or  excusable,  it  is  when 
it  springs,  not  from  power  or  riches,  grandeur 
or  glory,  but  from  conviction  of  national  inno- 
cence, information,  and  benevolence. 

In  the  midst  of  these  pleasing  ideas  we 
should  be  unfaithful  to  ourselves  if  we  should 
ever  lose  sight  of  the  danger  to  our  liberties,  if 
anything  partial  or  extraneous  should  infect 
the  purity  of  our  free,  fair,  virtuous,  and  inde- 

27 


S'naugural  ^iDtirei^^e^ 


pendent  elections.  If  an  election  is  to  be 
determined  by  a  majority  of  a  single  vote,  and 
that  can  be  procured  by  a  party  through  arti- 
fice or  corruption,  the  Government  may  be  the 
choice  of  a  party  for  its  own  ends,  not  of  the 
nation  for  the  national  good.  If  that  solitary 
suffrage  can  be  obtained  by  foreign  nations  by 
flattery  or  menaces,  by  fraud  or  violence,  by 
terror,  intrigue,  or  venality,  the  Government 
may  not  be  the  choice  of  the  American  people, 
but  of  foreign  nations.  It  may  be  foreign 
nations  who  govern  us,  and  not  we,  the  peo- 
ple, who  govern  ourselves;  and  candid  men 
will  acknowledge  that  in  such  cases  choice 
would  have  little  advantage  to  boast  of  over 
lot  or  chance. 

Such  is  the  amiable  and  interesting  system 
of  government  (and  such  are  some  of  the  abuses 
to  which  it  may  be  exposed)  which  the  people 
of  America  have  exhibited  to  the  admiration 
and  anxiety  of  the  wise  and  virtuous  of  all 
nations  for  eight  years  under  the  administra- 
tion of  a  citizen  who,  by  a  long  course  of  great 
actions,  regulated  by  prudence,  justice,  tem- 
perance, and  fortitude,  conducting  a  people 
inspired  with  the  same  virtues  and  animated 
with  the  same  ardent  patriotism  and  love  of 
liberty,  to  independence  and  peace,  to  increas- 
ing wealth  and  unexampled  prosperity,  has 
merited  the  gratitude  of  his  fellow-citizens,  com- 
manded the  highest  praises  of  foreign  nations, 
and  secured  immortal  glory  with  posterity. 

28 


3^0^11  atiam^ 


In  that  retirement,  which  is  his  voluntary- 
choice,  may  he  long  live  to  enjoy  the  delicious 
recollection  of  his  services,  the  gratitude  of 
mankind,  the  happy  fruits  of  them  to  himself 
and  the  world,  which  are  daily  increasing,  and 
that  splendid  prospect  of  the  future  fortunes 
of  this  country  which  is  opening  from  year  to 
year.  His  name  may  be  still  a  rampart,  and 
the  knowledge  that  he  lives  a  bulwark,  against 
all  open  or  secret  enemies  of  his  country's 
peace.  This  example  has  been  recommended 
to  the  imitation  of  his  successors  by  both 
Houses  of  Congress  and  by  the  voice  of  the 
legislatures  and  the  'people  throughout  the 
nation. 

On  this  subject  it  might  become  me  better 
to  be  silent,  or  to  speak  with  diffidence,  but 
as  something  may  be  expected,  the  occasion,  I 
hope,  will  be  admitted  as  an  apology  if  I  ven- 
ture to  say  that  if  a  preference,  upon  prin- 
ciple, of  a  free  republican  government,  formed 
upon  long  and  serious  reflection,  after  a  dili- 
gent and  impartial  inquiry  after  truth;  if  an 
attachment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  a  conscientious  determination  to 
support  it  until  it  shall  be  altered  by  the  judg- 
ments and  wishes  of  the  people,  expressed  in 
the  mode  prescribed  in  it;  if  a  respectful  atten- 
tion to  the  constitutions  of  the  individual 
States  and  a  constant  caution  and  delicacy 
toward  the  State  governments;  if  an  equal 
and  impartial  regard  to  the  rights,   interest, 

29 


S 


3^nau0ural  atiDre^^eief 


honor,  and  happiness  of  all  the  States  in  the 
Union,  without  preference  or  regard  to  a 
northern  or  southern,  an  eastern  or  western, 
position,  their  various  political  opinions  on 
unessential  points  or  their  personal  attach- 
ments; if  a  love  of  virtuous  men  of  all  parties 
and  denominations;  if  a  love  of  science  and 
letters  and  a  wish  to  patronize  every  rational 
effort  to  encourage  schools,  colleges,  univer- 
sities, academies,  and  every  institution  for 
propagating  knowledge,  virtue,  and  religion 
among  all  classes  of  the  people,  not  only  for 
their  benign  influence  on  the  happiness  of  life 
in  all  its  stages  and  classes,  and  of  society  in 
all  its  forms,  but  as  the  only  means  of  pre- 
serving our  Constitution  from  its  natural  ene- 
mies, the  spirit  of  sophistry,  the  spirit  of 
party,  the  spirit  of  intrigue,  the  profligacy  of 
corruption,  and  the  pestilence  of  foreign  influ- 
ence, which  is  the  angel  of  destruction  to 
elective  governments;  if  a  love  of  equal  laws, 
of  justice,  and  humanity  in  the  interior  adminis- 
tration; if  an  inclination  to  improve  agricul- 
ture, commerce,  and  manufactures  for  neces- 
sity, convenience,  and  defense;  if  a  spirit  of 
equity  and  humanity  toward  the  aboriginal 
nations  of  America,  and  a  disposition  to  meli- 
orate their  condition  by  inclining  them  to  be 
more  friendly  to  us,  and  our  citizens  to  be 
more  friendly  to  them;  if  an  inflexible  deter- 
mination to  maintain  peace  and  inviolable  faith 
with  all  nations,  and  that  system  of  neutrality 

30 


h 


2Fol^n  aDaitiiBf 


and  impartiality  among  the  belligerent  powers 
of  Europe  which  has  been  adopted  by  this 
Government  and  so  solemnly  sanctioned  by- 
both  Houses  of  Congress  and  applauded  by  the 
legislatures  of  the  States  and  the  public  opin- 
ion, until  it  shall  be  otherwise  ordained  by 
Congress;  if  a  personal  esteem  for  the  French 
nation,  formed  in  a  residence  of  seven  years 
chiefly  among  them,  and  a  sincere  desire  to 
preserve  the  friendship  which  has  been  so 
much  for  the  honor  and  interest  of  both  na- 
tions; if,  while  the  conscious  honor  and  integ- 
rity of  the  people  of  America  and  the  internal 
sentiment  of  their  own  power  and  energies 
must  be  preserved,  an  earnest  endeavor  to 
investigate  every  just  cause  and  remove  every 
colorable  pretense  of  complaint;  if  an  intention 
to  pursue  by  amicable  negotiation  a  reparation 
for  the  injuries  that  have  been  committed  on 
the  commerce  of  our  fellow-citizens  by  what- 
ever nation,  and  if  success  cannot  be  obtained, 
to  lay  the  facts  before  the  Legislature,  that 
they  may  consider  what  further  measures  the 
honor  and  interest  of  the  Government  and  its 
constituents  demand;  if  a  resolution  to  do 
justice  as  far  as  may  depend  upon  me,  at  all 
times  and  to  all  nations,  and  maintain  peace, 
friendship,  and  benevolence  with  all  the  world; 
if  an  unshaken  confidence  in  the  honor,  spirit, 
and  resources  of  the  American  people,  on 
which  I  have  so  often  hazarded  my  all  and 
never  been  deceived;  if  elevated  ideas  of  the 


31 


>i 


S^naugucal  ^^htt^^t^ 


high  destinies  of  this  country  and  of  my  own 
duties  toward  it,  founded  on  a  knowledge  of 
the  moral  principles  and  intellectual  improve- 
ments of  the  people,  deeply  engraven  on  my 
mind  in  early  life,  and  not  obscured  but  exalted 
by  experience  and  age;  and,  with  humble  rev- 
erence, I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to  add,  if  a  ven- 
eration for  the  religion  of  a  people  who  profess 
and  call  themselves  Christians,  and  a  fixed  res- 
olution to  consider  a  decent  respect  for  Chris- 
tianity among  the  best  recommendations  for 
the  public  service,  can  enable  me  in  any  degree 
to  comply  with  your  wishes,  it  shall  be  my  stren- 
uous endeavor  that  this  sagacious  injunction 
of  the  two  Houses  shall  not  be  without  effect. 

With  this  great  example  before  me,  with  the 
sense  and  spirit,  the  faith  and  honor,  the  duty 
and  interest,  of  the  same  American  people 
pledged  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  I  entertain  no  doubt  of  its  con- 
tinuance in  all  its  energ)^  and  my  mind  is  pre- 
pared without  hesitation  to  lay  myself  under 
the  most  solemn  obligations  to  support  it  to 
the  utmost  of  my  power. 

And  may  that  Being  who  is  supreme  over 
all,  the  Patron  of  Order,  the  Fountain  of  Jus- 
tice, and  the  Protector  in  all  ages  of  the  world 
of  virtuous  liberty,  continue  His  blessing  upon 
this  nation  and  its  Government,  and  give  it  all 
possible  success  and  duration  consistent  with 
the  ends  of  His  providence. 

March  4,  1797. 

32 


FIRST  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

AT  WASHINGTON,   D.  C. 


Friends  and  Fellow-Citizens  : 

CALLED  upon  to  undertake  the  duties 
of  the  first  executive  office  of  our  coun- 
try, I  avail  myself  of  the  presence  of 
that  portion  of  my  fellow-citizens  which  is 
here  assembled  to  express  my  grateful  thanks 
for  the  favor  with  which  they  have  been 
pleased  to  look  toward  me,  to  declare  a  sin- 
cere consciousness  that  the  task  is  above  my 
talents,  and  that  I  approach  it  with  those 
anxious  and  awful  presentiments  which  the 
greatness  of  the  charge  and  weakness  of  my 
powers  so  justly  inspire.  A  rising  nation, 
spread  over  a  wide  and  fruitful  land,  travers- 
ing all  the  seas  with  the  rich  productions  of 
their  industry,  engaged  in  commerce  with 
nations  who  feel  power  and  forp-^t  n'fyht,  ad- 
vancing rap1tttyTo"'"3esdniesbeyond  the  reach 
of  mortal  eye — when  I  contemplate  these 
transcendent  objects,  and  see  the  honor,  the 
happiness,  and  the  hopes  of  this  beloved  coun- 
try committed  to  the  issue  and  the  auspices  of 
this  day,  I  shrink  from  the  contemplation,  and 
humble  myself  before  the  magnitude  of  the 
undertaking.     Utterly,    indeed,    should  I  de- 

33 


3^naugural  atiDre^^e^ 


spair  did  not  the  presence  of  many  whom  I 
here  see  remind  me  that  in  the  other  high 
authorities  provided  by  our  Constitution  I 
shall  find  resources  of  wisdom,  of  virtue,  and 
of  zeal  on  which  to  rely  under  all  difficulties. 
To  you,  then,  gentlemen,  who  are  charged 
with  the  sovereign  functions  of  legislation,  and 
to  those  associated  with  you,  I  look  with  en- 
couragement for  that  guidance  and  support 
which  may  enable  us  to  steer  with  safety  the 
vessel  in  which  we  are  all  embarked  amidst 
the  conflicting  elements  of  a  troubled  world. 

^-^  During  the  contest  of  opinion  through  which 
rwe  have  passed  the  animation  of   discussions 

xLand  of  exertions  has  sometimes  worn  an  aspect 
which  might  impose  on  strangers  unused  to 
think  freely  and  to  speak  and  to  write  what 
they  think;  but  this  being  now  decided  by  the 
voice  of  the  nation,  announced  according  to 
the  rules  of  the  Constitution,  all  will,  of  course, 
arrange  themselves  under  the  will  of  the  law, 
and  unite  in  cortimon  efforts  for  the  common 
good.  All,  too,  will  bear  in  mind  this  sacred 
principle,  that  though  the  will  of  the  majority 
is  in  all  cases  to  prevail,  that  will  to  be  rightful 
must  be  reasonable;  that  the  minority  possess 
their  equal  rights,  which  equal  law  must  pro- 
tect, and  to  violate  would  be  oppression.  Let 
us,  then,  fellow-citizens,  unite  with  one  heart 
and  one  mind.  Let  us  restore  to  social  inter- 
course that  harmony  and  affection  without 
which  liberty  and  even  life  itself  are  but  dreary 

34 


€l)oma^  S^effet^on 


things.  And  let  us  reflect  that,  having  ban- 
ished from  our  land  that  religious  intolerance 
under  which  mankind  so  long  bled  and  suffered, 
we  have  yet  gained  little  if  we  countenance  a 
political  intolerance  as  despotic,  as  wicked, 
and  capable  of  as  bitter  and  bloody  persecu-X 
tions.  During  the  throes  and  convulsions  of 
the  ancient  world,  during  the  agonizing  spasms 
of  infuriated  man,  seeking  through  blood  and 
slaughter  his  long-lost  liberty,  it  was  not  won- 
derful that  the  agitation  of  the  billows  should 
reach  even  this  distant  and  peaceful  shore; 
that  this  should  be  more  felt  and  feared  by 
some  and  less  by  others,  and  should  divide 
opinions  as  to  measures  of  safety.  But  every 
difference  of  opinion  is  not  a  difference  of 
principle.  We  have  called  by  different  names 
brethren  of  the  same  principle.  We  are  all 
Republicans,  we  are  all  Federalists.  If  there 
be  any  among  us  who  would  wish  to  dissolve 
this  Union  or  to  change  its  republican  form, 
let  them  stand  undisturbed  as  monuments  of 
the  safety  with  which  error  of  opinion  may  be 
tolerated  where  reason  is  left  free  to  combat 
it.  I  know,  indeed,  that  some  honest  men 
fear  that  a  republican  government  cannot  be 
strong,  that  this  Government  is  not  strong 
enough;  but  would  the  honest  patriot,  in  the 
full  tide  of  successful  experiment,  abandon  a 
government  which  has  so  far  kept  us  free  and 
firm  on  the  theoretic  and  visionary  fear  that 
this  Government,  the  world's  best  hope,  may 

35 


S^naugural  3lDDre^i^e^ 


by  possibility  want  energy  to  preserve  itself? 
I  trust  not.  I  believe  this,  on  the  contrary, 
the  strongest  Government  on  earth.  I  believe 
it  the  only  one  where  every  man,  at  the  call  of 
the  law,  would  fly  to  the  standard  of  the  law, 
and  would  meet  invasions  of  the  public  order 
as  his  own  personal  concern.  Sometimes  it  is 
said  that  man  cannot  be  trusted  with  the  gov- 
ernment of  himself.  Can  he,  then,  be  trusted 
with  the  government  of  others.-*  Or  have  we 
found  angels  in  the  forms  of  kings  to  govern 
him.?     Let  history  answer  this  question. 

Let  us,  then,  with  courage  and  confidence 
pursue  our  own  Federal  and  Republican  prin- 
ciples, our  attachment  to  union  and  representa- 
tive government.  Kindly  separated  by  nature 
and  a  wide  ocean  from  the  exterminating 
havoc  of  one-quarter  of  the  globe;  too  high- 
minded  to  endure  the  degradations  of  the 
others;  possessing  a  chosen  country,  with 
room  enough  for  our  descendants  to  the  thou- 
sandth and  thousandth  generation;  entertaining 
a  due  sense  of  our  equal  right  to  the  use  of 
our  own  faculties,  to  the  acquisitions  of  our  own 
industry,  to  honor  and  confidence  from  our 
fellow-citizens,  resulting  not  from  birth,  but 
from  our  actions  and  their  sense  of  them;  en- 
lightened by  a  benign  religion,  professed, 
indeed,  and  practiced  in  various  forms,  yet 
all  of  them  inculcating  honesty,  truth,  tem- 
perance, gratitude,  and  the  love  of  man; 
acknowledging    and    adoring    an    overruling 

36 


€l)oma^  Sti^tt^t^n 


Providence,  which  by  all  its  dispensations 
proves  that  it  delights  in  the  happiness  of  man 
here  and  his  greater  happiness  hereafter — with 
all  these  blessings,  what  more  is  necessary  to 
make  us  a  happy  and  a  prosperous  people? 
Still  one  thing  more,  fellow-citizens-j^  wise 
and  frugal  Government,  which  shall  restrain 
men  from  injuring  one  another,  shall  leave 
them  otherwise  free  to  regulate  their  own  pur- 
suits of  industry  and  improvement,  and  shall 
not  take  from  the  mouth  of  labor  the  bread  it 
has  earned.  This  is  the  sum  of  good  govern- 
menf^nd  this  is  necessary  to  close  the  circle 
of  our  felicities. 

About  to  enter,  fellow-citizens,  on  the  exer- 
cise of  duties  which  comprehend  everything 
dear  and  valuable  to  you,  it  is  proper  you 
should  understand  what  I  deem  the  essential 
principles  of  our  Government,  and  conse- 
quently those  which  ought  to  shape  its  Admin- 
istration. I  will  compress  them  within  the 
narrowest  compass  they  will  bear,  stating  the 

^neral  principle,   but  not  all  its  Hmitations. 

^qual  and  exact  justice  to  all  men,  of  what- 
ever state  or  persuasion,  religious  or  political; 
peace,  commerce,  and  honest  friendship  with 
all  nations,  entangling  alliances  with  none;  the 
support  of  the  State  governments  in  all  their 
rights,  as  the  most  competent  administrations 
foFour  domestic  concerns  and  the  surest  bul- 
warks against  antirepublican  tendencies;  the 
preservation  of  the  General  Government  in  its 

37 


't^U  i  JLi^Z^ 


3  naugural  glDtireiBfjefe^ 


whole  constitutional  vigor,  as  the  sheet  anchor 
of  our  peace  at  home  and  safety  abroad;  a 
jealous  care  of  the  right  of  election  by  the 
people — a  mild  and  safe  corrective  of  abuses 
which  are  lopped  by^the  sword  of  revolution 
where  peaceable  remedies  are  unprovided; 
absolute  acquiescence  in  the  decisions  of  the 
majority,  the  vital  principle  of  republics,  from 
which  is  no  appeal  but  to  force,  the  vital  prin- 
ciple and  immediate  parent  of  despotism;  a 
well-disciplined  militia,  our  best  reliance  in 
peace  and  for  the  first  moments  of  war,  till 
regulars  may  relieve  them;  the  supremacy  of 
the  civil  over  the  mihtary  authority;  economy 
in  the  public  expense,  that  labor  may  be  lightly 
burthened;  the  honest  payment  of  our  debts 
and  sacred  preservation  of  the  public  faith; 
encouragement  of  agriculture,  and  of  com- 
merce as  its  handmaid;  the  diffusion  of  infor- 
mation and  arraignment  of  all  abuses  at  the 
bar  of  the  pubhc  reason;  freedom  of  religion; 
freedom  of  the  press,  and  freedom  of  person 
under  the  protection  of  the  habeas  corpus,  and 
trial  by  juries  impartially  selected .""^  These 
principles  form  the  bright  constellation  which 
has  gone  before  us  and  guided  our  steps  through 
an  age  of  revolution  and  reformation.  The 
wisdom  of  our  sages  and  blood  of  our  heroes 
have  been  devoted  to  their  attainment.  They 
should  be  the  creed  of  our  political  faith,  the 
text  of  civic  instruction,  the  touchstone  by 
which  to  try  the  services  of  those  we  trust; 

38 


€J)oma^  S^effer^sfon 


and  should  we  wander  from  them  in  moments 
of  error  or  of  alarm,  let  us  hasten  to  retrace 
our  steps  and  to  regain  the  road  which  alone 
leads  to  peace,  liberty,  and  safety. 

I  repair,  then,  fellow-citizens,  to  the  post 
you  have  assigned  me.  With  experience 
enough  in  subordinate  offices  to  have  seen  the 
difficulties  of  this  the  greatest  of  all,  I  have 
learnt  to  expect  that  it  will  rarely  fall  to  the 
lot  of  imperfect  man  to  retire  from  this  station 
with  the  reputation  and  the  favor  which  bring 
him  into  it.  Without  pretensions  to  that  high 
confidence  you  reposed  in  our  first  and  great- 
est revolutionary  character,  whose  pre-eminent 
services  had  entitled  him  to  the  first  place  in 
his  country's  love  and  destined  for  him  the 
fairest  page  in  the  volume  of  faithful  history, 
I  ask  so  much  confidence  only  as  may  give 
firmness  and  effect  to  the  legal  administration 
of  your  affairs.  I  shall  often  go  wrong  through 
defect  of  judgment.  When  right,  I  shall  often 
be  thought  wrong  by  those  whose  positions 
will  not  command  a  view  of  the  whole  ground. 
1  ask  your  indulgence  for  my  own  errors, 
which  will  never  be  intentional,  and  your  sup- 
port against  the  errors  of  others,  who  may 
condemn  what  they  would  not  if  seen  in  all  its 
parts.  The  approbation  implied  by  your  suf- 
frage is  a  great  consolation  to  me  for  the  past, 
and  my  future  solicitude  will  be  to  retain  the 
good  opinion  of  those  who  have  bestowed  it 
in  advance,    to  conciliate   that   of   others  by 

39 


S^naugural  ^hhtt^^t^ 


doing  them  all  the  good  in  my  power,  and  to 
be  instrumental  to  the  happiness  and  freedom 
of  all. 

Relying,  then,  on  the  patronage  of  your 
good  will,  I  advance  with  obedience  to  the 
work,  ready  to  retire  from  it  whenever  you 
become  sensible  how  much  better  choice  it  is 
in  your  power  to  make.  And  may  that  Infin- 
ite Power  which  rules  the  destinies  of  the  uni- 
verse lead  our  councils  to  what  is  best,  and 
give  them  a  favorable  issue  for  your  peace  and 
prosperity. 

March  4,  1801. 


SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


PROCEEDING,  fellow-citizens,  to  that 
qualification  which  the  Constitution  re- 
quires before  my  entrance  on  the  charge 
again  conferred  on  me,  it  is  my  duty  to  ex- 
press the  deep  sense  I  entertain  of  this  new 
proof  of  confidence  from  my  fellow-citizens  at 
large,  and  the  zeal  with  which  it  inspires  me 
so  to  conduct  myself  as  may  best  satisfy  their 
just  expectations. 

On  taking  this  station  on  a  former  occasion 
I  declared  the  principles  on  which  I  believed 
it  my  duty  to  administer  the  affairs  of  our 
Commonwealth.  My  conscience  tells  me  I 
have  on  every  occasion  acted  up  to  that  decla- 
ration according  to  its  obvious  import  and  to 
the  understanding  of  every  candid  mind. 

In  the  transaction  of  your  foreign  affairs  we 
have  endeavored  to  cultivate  the  friendship  of 
all  nations,  and  especially  of  those  with  which 
we  have  the  most  important  relations.  We 
have  done  them  justice  on  all  occasions,  fav- 
ored where  favor  was  lawful,  and  cherished 
mutual  interests  and  intercourse  on  fair  and 
equal  terms.  We  are  firmly  convinced,  and 
we  act  on  that  conviction,  that  with  nations  as 
with  individuals  our  interests  soundly  calcu- 

41 


S^nauffural  ai^tilire^^e^ 


lated  will  ever  be  found  inseparable  from  our 
moral  duties,  and  history  bears  witness  to  the 
fact  that  a  just  nation  is  trusted  on  its  word 
when  recourse  is  had  to  armaments  and  wars 
to  bridle  others. 

At  home,  fellow-citizens,  you  best  know 
whether  we  have  done  well  or  ill.  The  sup- 
pression of  unnecessary  offices,  of  useless  estab- 
lishments and  expenses,  enabled  us  to  discon- 
tinue our  internal  taxes.  These,  covering  our 
land  with  officers  and  opening  our  doors  to 
their  intrusions,  had  already  begun  that  pro- 
cess of  domiciliary  vexation  which  once  entered 
is  scarcely  to  be  restrained  from  reaching  suc- 
cessively every  article  of  property  and  produce. 
If  among  these  taxes  some  minor  ones  fell 
which  had  not  been  inconvenient,  it  was  be- 
cause their  amount  would  not  have  paid  the 
officers  who  collected  them,  and  because,  if 
they  had  any  merit,  the  State  authorities  might 
adopt  them  instead  of  others  less  approved. 

The  remaining  revenue  on  the  consumption 
of  foreign  articles  is  paid  chiefly  by  those  who 
can  afford  to  add  foreign  luxuries  to  domestic 
comforts,  being  collected  on  our  seaboard  and 
frontiers  only,  and,  incorporated  with  the  tran- 
sactions of  our  mercantile  citizens,  it  may  be 
the  pleasure  and  the  pride  of  an  American  to 
ask.  What  farmer,  what  mechanic,  what 
laborer  ever  sees  a  tax-gatherer  of  the  United 
States?  These  contributions  enable  us  to 
support  the  current  expenses  of  the  Govem- 

42 


€ftoma^  S^effet^on 


ment,  to  fulfill  contracts  with  foreign  nations, 
to  extinguish  the  native  right  of  soil  within  our 
limits,  to  extend  those  limits,  and  to  apply 
such  a  surplus  to  our  public  debts  as  places  at 
a  short  day  their  final  redemption,  and  that 
redemption  once  effected  the  revenue  thereby 
liberated  may,  by  a  just  repartition  of  it  among 
the  States  and  a  corresponding  amendment  of 
the  Constitution,  be  applied  in  time  of  peace  to 
rivers,  canals,  roads,  arts,  manufactures,  edu- 
cation, and  other  great  objects  within  each 
State.  In  time  of  war,  if  injustice  by  our- 
selves or  others  must  sometimes  produce  war, 
increased  as  the  same  revenue  will  be  by  in- 
creased population  and  consumption,  and  aided 
by  other  resources  reserved  for  that  crisis,  it 
may  meet  within  the  year  all  the  expenses  of 
the  year  without  encroaching  on  the  rights  of 
future  generations  by  burthening  them  with  the 
debts  of  the  past.  War  will  then  be  but  a 
suspension  of  useful  works,  and  a  return  to  a 
state  of  peace  a  return  to  the  progress  of  im- 
provement. 

I  have  said,  fellow-citizens,  that  the  income 
reserved  had  enabled  us  to  extend  our  limits, 
but  that  extension  may  possibly  pay  for  itself 
before  we  are  called  on,  and  in  the  mean  time 
may  keep  down  the  accruing  interest;  in  all 
events,  it  will  replace  the  advances  we  shall 
have  made.  I  know  that  the  acquisition  of 
Louisiana  has  been  disapproved  by  some  from 
a  candid  apprehension  that  the  enlargement  of 

43 


S^naugural  ^hhtt^^tfi 


our  territory  would  endanger  its  union.  But 
who  can  limit  the  extent  to  which  the  federa- 
tive principle  may  operate  effectively?  The 
larger  our  association  the  less  will  it  be  shaken 
by  local  passions;  and  in  any  view  is  it  not 
better  that  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Missis- 
sippi should  be  settled  by  our  own  brethren 
and  children  than  by  strangers  of  another  fam- 
ily? With  which  should  we  be  most  likely  to 
live  in  harmony  and  friendly  intercourse? 

In  matters  of  rehgion  I  have  considered  that 
its  free  exercise  is  placed  by  the  Constitution 
independent  of  the  powers  of  the  General 
Government.  I  have  therefore  undertaken  on 
no  occasion  to  prescribe  the  religious  exercises 
suited  to  it,  but  have  left  them,  as  the  Consti- 
tution found  them,  under  the  direction  and 
discipline  of  the  church  or  state  authorities 
acknowledged  by  the  several  religious  societies. 

The  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  these  countries 
I  have  regarded  with  the  commiseration  their 
history  inspires.  Endowed  with  the  faculties 
and  the  rights  of  men,  breathing  an  ardent 
love  of  liberty  and  independence,  and  occupy- 
ing a  country  which  left  them  no  desire  but  to 
be  undisturbed,  the  stream  of  overflowing 
population  from  other  regions  directed  itself 
on  these  shores;  without  power  to  divert  or 
habits  to  contend  against  it,  they  have  been 
overwhelmed  by  the  current  or  driven  before 
it;  now  reduced  within  limits  too  narrow  for 
the   hunter's   state,    humanity   enjoins   us   to 

44 


Cftoma^  S^effer^on 


teach  them  agriculture  and  the  domestic  arts; 
to  encourage  them  to  that  industry  which  alone 
can  enable  them  to  maintain  their  place  in  ex- 
istence and  to  prepare  them  in  time  for  that 
state  of  society  which  to  bodily  comforts  adds 
the  improvement  of  the  mind  and  morals.  We 
have  therefore  liberally  furnished  them  with 
the  implements  of  husbandry  and  household 
use;  we  have  placed  among  them  instructors 
in  the  arts  of  first  necessity,  and  they  are  cov- 
ered with  the  aegis  of  the  law  against  aggres- 
sors from  among  ourselves. 

But  the  endeavors  to  enlighten  them  on  the 
fate  which  awaits  their  present  course  of  life, 
to  induce  them  to  exercise  their  reason,  follow 
its  dictates,  and  change  their  pursuits  with  the 
change  of  circumstances  have  powerful  ob- 
stacles to  encounter;  they  are  combated  by 
the  habits  of  their  bodies,  prejudices  of  their 
minds,  ignorance,  pride,  and  the  influence  of 
interested  and  crafty  individuals  among  them 
who  feel  themselves  something  in  the  present 
order  of  things  and  fear  to  become  nothing  in 
any  other.  These  persons  inculcate  a  sancti- 
monious reverence  for  the  customs  of  their 
ancestors;  that  whatsoever  they  did  must  be 
done  through  all  time;  that  reason  is  a  false 
guide,  and  to  advance  under  its  counsel  in  their 
physical,  moral,  or  political  condition  is  peril- 
ous innovation;  that  their  duty  is  to  remain  as 
their  Creator  made  them,  ignorance  being 
safety  and  knowledge  full  of  danger;  in  short, 

45 


^Fnaugural  autire^^eitf 


my  friends,  among  them  also  is  seen  the  action 
and  counteraction  of  good  sense  and  of  bigotry; 
they  too  have  their  antiphilosophists  who 
find  an  interest  in  keeping  things  in  their  pres- 
ent state,  who  dread  reformation,  and  exert 
all  their  faculties  to  maintain  the  ascendency 
of  habit  over  the  duty  of  improving  our  reason 
and  obeying  its  mandates. 

In  giving  these  outlines  I  do  not  mean, 
fellow-citizens,  to  arrogate  to  myself  the  merit 
of  the  measures.  That  is  due,  in  the  first 
place,  to  the  reflecting  character  of  our  citi- 
zens at  large,  who,  by  the  weight  of  public 
opinion  influence  and  strengthen  the  public 
measures;  it  is  due  to  the  sound  discretion 
with  which  they  select  from  among  themselves 
those  to  whom  they  confide  the  legislative 
duties;  it  is  due  to  the  zeal  and  wisdom  of 
the  characters  thus  selected,  who  lay  the  foun- 
dations of  public  happiness  in  wholesome 
laws,  the  execution  of  which  alone  remains 
for  others;  and  it  is  due  to  the  able  and  faith- 
ful auxiliaries,  whose  patriotism  has  associated 
them  with  me  in  the  executive  functions. 

During  this  course  of  administration,  and  in 
order  to  disturb  it,  the  artillery  of  the  press 
has  been  leveled  against  us,  charged  with 
whatsoever  its  licentiousness  could  devise  or 
dare.  These  abuses  of  an  institution  so  im- 
portant to  freedom  and  science  are  deeply  to 
be  regretted,  inasmuch  as  they  tend  to  lessen 
its  usefulness   and  to  sap   its  safety.     They 

46 


€J)0ma0  ^Feffer^on 


might,  indeed,  have  been  corrected  by  the 
wholesome  punishments  reserved  to  and  pro- 
vided by  the  laws  of  the  several  States  against 
falsehood  and  defamation,  but  public  duties 
more  urgent  press  on  the  time  of  public  ser- 
vants, and  the  offenders  have  therefore  been 
left  to  find  their  punishment  in  the  public  indig- 
nation. 

Nor  was  it  uninteresting  to  the  world  that 
an  experiment  should  be  fairly  and  fully  made, 
whether  freedom  of  discussion,  unaided  by 
power,  is  not  sufficient  for  the  propagation  and 
protection  of  truth — whether  a  government 
conducting  itself  in  the  true  spirit  of  its  con- 
stitution, with  zeal  and  purity,  and  doing  no 
act  which  it  would  be  unwilling  the  whole 
world  should  witness,  can  be  written  down  by 
falsehood  and  defamation.  The  experiment 
has  been  tried;  you  have  witnessed  the  scene; 
our  fellow-citizens  looked  on,  cool  and  col- 
lected; they  saw  the  latent  source  from  which 
these  outrages  proceeded;  they  gathered 
around  their  public  functionaries,  and  when 
the  Constitution  called  them  to  the  decision  by 
suffrage,  they  pronounced  their  verdict,  honor- 
able to  those  who  had  served  them  and  con- 
solatory to  the  friend  of  man  who  believes 
that  he  may  be  trusted  with  the  control  of  his 
own  affairs. 

No  inference  is  here  intended  that  the  laws 
provided  by  the  States  against  false  and  de- 
famatory publications  should  not  be  enforced; 

47 


^Fnaugural  ^DDre^^c^ 


he  who  has  time  renders  a  service  to  pubHc 
morals  and  public  tranquillity  in  reforming 
these  abuses  by  the  salutary  coercions  of  the 
law;  but  the  experiment  is  noted  to  prove 
that,  since  truth  and  reason  have  maintained 
their  ground  against  false  opinions  in  league 
with  false  facts,  the  press,  confined  to  truth, 
needs  no  other  legal  restraint;  the  public  judg- 
ment will  correct  false  reasonings  and  opinions 
on  a  full  hearing  of  all  parties;  and  no  other 
definite  line  can  be  drawn  between  the  inesti- 
mable liberty  of  the  press  and  its  demoralizing 
licentiousness.  If  there  be  still  improprieties 
which  this  rule  would  not  restrain,  its  supple- 
ment must  be  sought  in  the  censorship  of  pub- 
lic opinion. 

Contemplating  the  union  of  sentiment  now 
manifested  so  generally  as  auguring  harmony 
and  happiness  to  our  future  course,  I  offer  to 
our  country  sincere  congratulations.  With 
those,  too,  not  yet  rallied  to  the  same  point 
the  disposition  to  do  so  is  gaining  strength; 
facts  are  piercing  through  the  veil  drawn  over 
them,  and  our  doubting  brethren  will  at  length 
see  that  the  mass  of  their  fellow-citizens  with 
whom  they  cannot  yet  resolve  to  act  as  to 
principles  and  measures,  think  as  they  think 
and  desire  what  they  desire;  that  our  wish  as 
well  as  theirs  is  that  the  public  efforts  may  be 
directed  honestly  to  the  public  good,  that 
peace  be  cultivated,  civil  and  religious  liberty 
unassailed,  law  and  order  preserved,  equality 

48 


€6oma^  5f effer^DU 


of  rights  maintained,  and  that  state  of  property, 
equal  or  unequal,  which  results  to  every  man 
from  his  own  industry  or  that  of  his  father's. 
When  satisfied  of  these  views  it  is  not  in 
human  nature  that  they  should  not  approve 
and  support  them.  In  the  mean  time  let  us 
cherish  them  with  patient  affection,  let  us  do 
them  justice,  and  more  than  justice,  in  all 
competitions  of  interest,  and  we  need  not 
doubt  that  truth,  reason,  and  their  own  inter- 
est will  at  length  prevail,  will  gather  them  into 
the  fold  of  their  country,  and  will  complete 
that  entire  union  of  opinion  which  gives  to  a 
nation  the  blessing  of  harmony  and  the  benefit 
of  all  its  strength. 

I  shall  now  enter  on  the  duties  to  which  my 
fellow-citizens  have  again  called  me,  and  shall 
proceed  in  the  spirit  of  those  principles  which 
they  have  approved.  I  fear  not  that  any 
motives  of  interest  may  lead  me  astray;  I  am 
sensible  of  no  passion  which  could  seduce  me 
knowingly  from  the  path  of  justice,  but  the 
weaknesses  of  human  nature  and  the  limits  of 
my  own  understanding  will  produce  errors  of 
judgment  sometimes  injurious  to  your  interests. 
I  shall  need,  therefore,  all  the  indulgence 
which  I  have  heretofore  experienced  from  my 
constituents;  the  want  of  it  will  certainly  not 
lessen  with  increasing  years.  I  shall  need, 
too,  the  favor  of  that  Being  in  whose  hands 
we  are,  who  led  our  fathers,  as  Israel  of  old, 
from  their  native  land  and  planted  them  in  a 

49 


^Fnauffural  atitirr^^e^ 


country  flowing  with  all  the  necessaries  and 
comforts  of  life;  who  has  covered  our  infancy 
with  His  providence  and  our  riper  years  with 
His  wisdom  and  power,  and  to  whose  good- 
ness I  ask  you  to  join  in  supphcations  with  me 
that  He  will  so  enlighten  the  minds  of  your 
servants,  guide  their  councils,  and  prosper 
their  measures  that  whatsoever  they  do  shall 
result  in  your  good,  and  shall  secure  to  you 
the  peace,  friendship,  and  approbation  of  all 
nations. 

March  4,  1805. 


50 


Slamejs  ^pantsion 

FIRST  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


UNWILLING  to  depart  from  examples 
of  the  most  revered  authority,  I  avail 
myself  of  the  occasion  now  presented 
to  express  the  profound  impression  made  on 
me  by  the  call  of  my  country  to  the  station  to 
the  duties  of  which  I  am  about  to  pledge  my- 
self by  the  most  solemn  of  sanctions.  So  dis- 
tinguished a  mark  of  confidence,  proceeding 
from  the  deliberate  and  tranquil  suffrage  of  a 
free  and  virtuous  nation,  would  under  any  cir- 
cumstances have  commanded  my  gratitude  and 
devotion,  as  well  as  filled  me  with  an  awful 
sense  of  the  trust  to  be  assumed.  Under  the 
various  circumstances  which  give  peculiar 
solemnity  to  the  existing  period,  I  feel  that 
both  the  honor  and  the  responsibility  allotted 
to  me  are  inexpressibly  enhanced. 

The  present  situation  of  the  world  is  indeed 
without  a  parallel,  and  that  of  our  own  coun- 
try full  of  difficulties.  The  pressure  of  these, 
too,  is  the  more  severely  felt  because  they 
have  fallen  upon  us  at  a  moment  when  the 
national  prosperity  being  at  a  height  not  before 
attained,  the  contrast  resulting  from  the  change 
has  been  rendered  the  more  striking.  Under 
the  benign  influence  of  our  republican  institu- 

51 


^Fnaugural  ^titire^i^e^ 


tions,  and  the  maintenance  of  peace  with  all 
nations  whilst  so  many  of  them  were  engaged 
in  bloody  and  wasteful  wars,  the  fruits  of  a 
just  policy  were  enjoyed  in  an  unrivaled 
growth  of  our  faculties  and  resources.  Proofs 
of  this  were  seen  in  the  improvements  of  agri- 
culture, in  the  successful  enterprises  of  com- 
merce, in  the  progress  of  manufactures  and 
useful  arts,  in  the  increase  of  the  public 
revenue  and  the  use  made  of  it  in  reducing 
the  public  debt,  and  in  the  valuable  works  and 
establishments  everywhere  multiplying  over 
the  face  of  our  land. 

It  is  a  precious  reflection  that  the  transition 
from  this  prosperous  condition  of  our  country 
to  the  scene  which  has  for  some  time  been 
distressing  us  is  not  chargeable  on  any  unwar- 
rantable views,  nor,  as  I  trust,  on  any  involun- 
tary errors  in  the  public  councils.  Indulging 
no  passions  which  trespass  on  the  rights  or 
the  repose  of  other  nations,  it  has  been  the 
true  glory  of  the  United  States  to  cultivate 
peace  by  observing  justice,  and  to  entitle 
themselves  to  the  respect  of  the  nations  at  war 
by  fulfilling  their  neutral  obligations  with  the 
most  scrupulous  impartiality.  If  there  be 
candor  in  the  world,  the  truth  of  these  asser- 
tions will  not  be  questioned;  posterity  at  least 
will  do  justice  to  them. 

This  unexceptionable  course  could  not  avail 
against  the  injustice  and  violence  of  the  belliger- 
ent powers.     In  their  rage  against  each  other, 

52 


5Fame^  ^atJije^on 


or  impelled  by  more  direct  motives,  principles 
of  retaliation  have  been  introduced  equally 
contrary  to  universal  reason  and  acknowledged 
law.  How  long  their  arbitrary  edicts  will  be 
continued  in  spite  of  the  demonstrations  that 
not  even  a  pretext  for  them  has  been  given  by 
the  United  States,  and  of  the  fair  and  liberal 
attempt  to  induce  a  revocation  of  them,  cannot 
be  anticipated.  Assuring  myself  that  under 
every  vicissitude  the  determined  spirit  and 
united  councils  of  the  nation  will  be  safeguards 
to  its  honor  and  its  essential  interests,  I  repair 
to  the  post  assigned  me  with  no  other  discour- 
agement than  what  springs  from  my  own  in- 
adequacy to  its  high  duties.  If  I  do  not  sink 
under  the  weight  of  this  deep  conviction  it  is 
because  I  find  some  support  in  a  consciousness 
of  the  purposes  and  a  confidence  in  the  prin- 
ciples which  I  bring  with  me  into  this  arduous 
service. 

To  cherish  peace  and  friendly  intercourse 
with  all  nations  having  correspondent  dispo- 
sitions; to  maintain  sincere  neutrality  toward 
belligerent  nations ;  to  prefer  in  all  cases  amic- 
able discussion  and  reasonable  accommodation 
of  differences  to  a  decision  of  them  by  an 
appeal  to  arms;  to  exclude  foreign  intrigues 
and  foreign  partialities,  so  degrading  to  all 
countries  and  so  baneful  to  free  ones;  to  foster 
a  spirit  of  independence  too  just  to  invade  the 
rights  of  others,  too  proud  to  surrender  our 
own,  too  liberal  to  indulge  unworthy  prejudices 

53 


^Tnaugural  ^t^t^u$$t$ 


ourselves  and  too  elevated  not  to  look  down 
upon  them  in  others;  to  hold  the  union  of  the 
States  as  the  basis  of  their  peace  and  happi- 
ness; to  support  the  Constitution,  which  is  the 
cement  of  the  Union,  as  well  in  its  hmitations 
as  in  its  authorities;  to  respect  the  rights  and 
authorities  reserved  to  the  States  and  to  the 
people  as  equally  incorporated  with  and  essen- 
tial to  the  success  of  the  general  system;  to 
avoid  the  slightest  interference  with  the  rights 
of  conscience  or  the  functions  of  religion,  so 
wisely  exempted  from  civil  jurisdiction;  to 
preserve  in  their  full  energy  the  other  salutary 
provisions  in  behalf  of  private  and  personal 
rights,  and  of  the  freedom  of  the  press;  to 
observe  economy  in  public  expenditures;  to 
liberate  the  public  resources  by  an  honorable 
discharge  of  the  public  debts;  to  keep  within 
the  requisite  limits  a  standing  military  force, 
always  remembering  that  an  armed  and  trained 
militia  is  the  firmest  bulwark  of  republics, 
that  without  standing  armies  their  liberty  can 
never  be  in  danger,  nor  with  large  ones  safe; 
to  promote  by  authorized  means  improvements 
friendly  to  agriculture,  to  manufactures,  and 
to  external  as  well  as  internal  commerce;  to 
favor  in  like  manner  the  advancement  of 
science  and  the  diffusion  of  information  as  the 
best  aliment  to  true  liberty;  to  carry  on  the 
benevolent  plans  which  have  been  so  meritori- 
ously applied  to  the  conversion  of  our  aborigi- 
nal   neighbors     from    the     degradation    and 

54 


3^ame^  ^St^abi^on 


wretchedness  of  savage  life  to  a  participation 
of  the  improvements  of  which  the  human  mind 
and  manners  are  susceptible  in  a  civilized  state 
— as  far  as  sentiments  and  intentions  such  as 
these  can  aid  the  fulfillment  of  my  duty,  they 
will  be  a  resource  which  cannot  fail  me. 

It  is  my  good  fortune,  moreover,  to  have 
the  path  in  which  I  am  to  tread  lighted  by 
examples  of  illustrious  services  successfully 
rendered  in  the  most  trying  difficulties  by 
those  who  have  marched  before  me.  Of  those 
of  my  immediate  predecessor  it  might  least 
become  me  here  to  speak.  I  may,  however, 
be  pardoned  for  not  suppressing  the  sympathy 
with  which  my  heart  is  full  in  the  rich  reward 
he  enjoys  in  the  benedictions  of  a  beloved 
country,  gratefully  bestowed  for  exalted  talents 
zealously  devoted  through  a  long  career  to  the 
advancement  of  its  highest  interest  and  happi- 
ness. 

But  the  source  to  which  I  look  for  the  aids 
which  alone  can  supply  my  deficiencies  is  in 
the  well-tried  intelligence  and  virtue  of  my 
fellow-citizens,  and  in  the  counsels  of  those 
representing  them  in  the  other  departments 
associated  in  the  care  of  the  national  interests. 
In  these  my  confidence  will  under  every  diffi- 
culty be  best  placed,  next  to  that  which  we 
have  all  been  encouraged  to  feel  in  the  guardian- 
ship and  guidance  of  that  Almighty  Being 
whose  power  regulates  the  destiny  of  nations, 
whose  blessings  have  been  so  conspicuously 

55 


S^naugutal  atDbrcief^e^ 


dispensed  to  this  rising  Republic,  and  to  whom 
we  are  bound  to  address  our  devout  gratitude 
for  the  past,  as  well  as  our  fervent  supplica- 
tions and  best  hopes  for  the  future. 
March  4,  1809. 


56 


SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


ABOUT  to  add  the  solemnity  of  an  oath 
to  the  obHgations  imposed  by  a  second 
call  to  the  station  in  which  my  country 
heretofore  placed  me,  I  find  in  the  presence  of 
this  respectable  assembly  an  opportunity  of 
publicly  repeating  my  profound  sense  of  so 
distinguished  a  confidence  and  of  the  responsi- 
bility united  with  it.  The  impressions  on  me 
are  strengthened  by  such  an  evidence  that  my 
faithful  endeavors  to  discharge  my  arduous 
duties  have  been  favorably  estimated,  and  by 
a  consideration  of  the  m.omentous  period  at 
which  the  trust  has  been  renewed.  From  the 
weight  and  magnitude  now  belonging  to  it  I 
should  be  compelled  to  shrink  if  I  had  less 
reliance  on  the  support  of  an  enlightened  and 
generous  people,  and  felt  less  deeply  a  convic- 
tion that  the  war  with  a  powerful  nation,  which 
forms  so  prominent  a  feature  in  our  situation, 
is  stamped  with  that  justice  which  invites  the 
smiles  of  heaven  on  the  means  of  conducting 
it  to  a  successful  termination. 

May  we  not  cherish  this  sentiment  without 
presumption  when  we  reflect  on  the  characters 
by  which  this  war  is  distinguished? 

It  was  not  declared  on  the  part  of  the  United 

57 


3^naugural  ^(.titireje^jete^ 


States  until  it  had  been  long  made  on  them, 
in  reality  though  not  in  name;  until  arguments 
and  expostulations  had  been  exhausted;  until 
a  positive  declaration  had  been  received  that 
the  wrongs  provoking  it  would  not  be  discon- 
tinued; nor  until  this  last  appeal  could  no 
longer  be  delayed  without  breaking  down  the 
spirit  of  the  nation,  destroying  all  confidence 
in  itself  and  in  its  political  institutions,  and 
either  perpetuating  a  state  of  disgraceful 
suffering  or  regaining  by  more  costly  sacrifices 
and  more  severe  struggles  our  lost  rank  and 
respect  among  independent  powers. 

On  the  issue  of  the  war  are  staked  our  na- 
tional sovereignty  on  the  high  seas  and  the 
security  of  an  important  class  of  citizens, 
whose  occupations  give  the  proper  value  to 
those  of  every  other  class.  Not  to  contend 
for  such  a  stake  is  to  surrender  our  equality 
with  other  powers  on  the  element  common  to 
all  and  to  violate  the  sacred  title  which  every 
member  of  the  society  has  to  its  protection. 
I  need  not  call  into  view  the  unlawfulness  of 
the  practice  by  which  our  mariners  are  forced 
at  the  will  of  every  cruising  officer  from  their 
own  vessels  into  foreign  ones,  nor  paint  the 
outrages  inseparable  from  it.  The  proofs  are 
in  the  records  of  each  successive  administration 
of  our  Government,  and  the  cruel  sufferings 
of  that  portion  of  the  American  people  have 
found  their  way  to  every  bosom  not  dead  to 
the  sympathies  of  human  nature. 

58 


S^ame^  flt^aHijB^on 


As  the  war  was  just  in  its  origin  and  neces- 
sary and  noble  in  its  objects,  we  can  reflect 
with  a  proud  satisfaction  that  in  carrying  it  on 
no  principle  of  justice  or  honor,  no  usage  of 
civilized  nations,  no  precept  of  courtesy  or 
humanity,  have  been  infringed.  The  war  has 
been  waged  on  our  part  with  scrupulous  regard 
to  all  these  obligations,  and  in  a  spirit  of  liber- 
ality which  was  never  surpassed. 

How  little  has  been  the  effect  of  this  ex- 
ample on  the  conduct  of  the  enemy! 

They  have  retained  as  prisoners  of  war  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  not  Hable  to  be  so 
considered  under  the  usages  of  war. 

They  have  refused  to  consider  as  prisoners 
of  war,  and  threatened  to  punish  as  traitors 
and  deserters,  persons  emigrating  without 
restraint  to  the  United  States,  incorporated 
by  naturalization  into  our  political  family,  and 
fighting  under  the  authority  of  their  adopted 
country  in  open  and  honorable  war  for  the 
maintenance  of  its  rights  and  safety.  Such 
is  the  avowed  purpose  of  a  Government  which 
is  in  the  practice  of  naturalizing  by  thousands 
citizens  of  other  countries,  and  not  only  of 
permitting  but  compelhng  them  to  fight  its 
battles  against  their  native  country. 

They  have  not,  it  is  true,  taken  into  their 
own  hands  the  hatchet  and  the  knife,  devoted 
to  indiscriminate  massacre,  but  they  have  let 
loose  the  savages  armed  with  these  cruel  in- 
struments; have  allured  them  into  their  service, 

59 


5Fnaugural  a.DDre^i6?ei0f 


and  carried  them  to  battle  by  their  sides,  eager 
to  glut  their  savage  thirst  with  the  blood  of  the 
vanquished  and  to  finish  the  work  of  torture 
and  death  on  maimed  and  defenseless  cap- 
tives. And,  what  was  never  before  seen, 
British  commanders  have  extorted  victory 
over  the  unconquerable  valor  of  our  troops  by 
presenting  to  the  sympathy  of  their  chief  cap- 
tives awaiting  massacre  from  their  savage 
associates.  And  now  we  find  them,  in  further 
contempt  of  the  modes  of  honorable  warfare, 
supplying  the  place  of  a  conquering  force  by 
attempts  to  disorganize  our  political  society, 
to  dismember  our  confederated  Republic. 
Happily,  like  others,  these  will  recoil  on  the 
authors;  but  they  mark  the  degenerate  coun- 
sels from  which  they  emanate,  and  if  they  did 
not  belong  to  a  series  of  unexampled  incon- 
sistencies might  excite  the  greater  wonder  as 
proceeding  from  a  Government  which  founded 
the  very  war  in  which  it  has  been  so  long  en- 
gaged on  a  charge  against  the  disorganizing 
and  insurrectional  policy  of  its  adversary. 

To  render  the  justice  of  the  war  on  our  part 
the  more  conspicuous,  the  reluctance  to  com- 
mence it  was  followed  by  the  earliest  and 
strongest  manifestations  of  a  disposition  to 
arrest  its  progress.  The  sword  was  scarcely 
out  of  the  scabbard  before  the  enemy  was 
apprised  of  the  reasonable  terms  on  which  it 
would  be  resheathed.  Still  more  precise  ad- 
vances were  repeated,  and  have  been  received 

60 


S^ame^  flt^aDi^on 


in  a  spirit  forbidding  every  reliance  not  placed 
on  the  military  resources  of  the  nation. 

These  resources  are  amply  sufficient  to  bring 
the  war  to  an  honorable  issue.  Our  nation  is 
in  number  more  than  half  that  of  the  British 
Isles.  It  is  composed  of  a  brave,  a  free,  a 
virtuous,  and  an  intelligent  people.  Our 
country  abounds  in  the  necessaries,  the  arts, 
and  the  comforts  of  life.  A  general  prosper- 
ity is  visible  in  the  public  countenance.  The 
means  employed  by  the  British  cabinet  to 
undermine  it  have  recoiled  on  themselves; 
have  given  to  our  national  faculties  a  more 
rapid  development,  and  draining  or  diverting 
the  precious  metals  from  British  circulation 
and  British  vaults,  have  poured  them  into 
those  of  the  United  States.  It  is  a  propitious 
consideration  that  an  unavoidable  war  should 
have  found  this  seasonable  facility  for  the 
contributions  required  to  support  it.  When 
the  public  voice  called  for  war,  all  knew,  and 
still  know,  that  without  them  it  could  not  be 
carried  on  through  the  period  which  it  might 
last,  and  the  patriotism,  the  good  sense,  and 
the  manly  spirit  of  our  fellow-citizens  are 
pledges  for  the  cheerfulness  with  which  they 
will  bear  each  his  share  of  the  common  burden. 
To  render  the  war  short  and  its  success  sure, 
animated  and  systematic  exertions  alone  are 
necessary,  and  the  success  of  our  arms  now 
may  long  preserve  our  country  from  the  neces- 
sity of  another  resort  to  them.     Already  have 

6i 


S^naugiiral  atitire^30?c^ 


the  gallant  exploits  of  our  naval  heroes  proved 
to  the  world  our  inherent  capacity  to  maintain 
our  rights  on  one  element.  If  the  reputation 
of  our  arms  has  been  thrown  under  clouds 
on  the  other,  presaging  flashes  of  heroic  enter- 
prise assure  us  that  nothing  is  wanting  to  cor- 
respondent triumphs  there  also  but  the  discipline 
and  habits  which  are  in  daily  progress. 
March  4,  1813. 


62 


Slamejs  fllponroe 

FIRST  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


I  SHOULD  be  destitute  of  feeling  if  I  was 
not  deeply  affected  by  the  strong  proof 
which  my  fellow-citizens  have  given  me  of 
their  confidence  in  calling  me  to  the  high  office 
whose  functions  I  am  about  to  assume.  As 
the  expression  of  their  good  opinion  of  my 
conduct  in  the  public  service,  I  derive  from  it 
a  gratification  which  those  who  are  conscious 
of  having  done  all  that  they  could  to  merit  it 
can  alone  feel.  My  sensibility  is  increased  by 
a  just  estimate  of  the  importance  of  the  trust 
and  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  its  duties, 
with  the  proper  discharge  of  which  the  highest 
interests  of  a  great  and  free  people  are  inti- 
mately connected.  Conscious  of  my  own 
deficiency,  I  cannot  enter  on  these  duties  with- 
out great  anxiety  for  the  result.  From  a  just 
responsibility  I  will  never  shrink,  calculating 
with  confidence  that  in  my  best  efforts  to  pro- 
mote the  public  welfare  my  motives  will  always 
be  duly  appreciated  and  my  conduct  be  viewed 
with  that  candor  and  indulgence  which  I  have 
experienced  in  other  stations. 

In  commencing  the  duties  of  the  chief  ex- 
ecutive office  it  has  been  the  practice  of  the 
distinguished  men  who  have  gone  before  me  to 

63 


S^naugural  atiDre^^e^e? 


explain  the  principles  which  would  govern  them 
in  their  respective  Administrations.  In  fol- 
lowing their  venerated  example  my  attention 
is  naturally  drawn  to  the  great  causes  which 
have  contributed  in  a  principal  degree  to  pro- 
duce the  present  happy  condition  of  the  United 
States.  They  will  best  explain  the  nature  of 
our  duties  and  shed  much  light  on  the  policy 
which  ought  to  be  pursued  in  future. 

From  the  commencement  of  our  Revolution 
to  the  present  day  almost  forty  years  have 
elapsed,  and  from  the  establishment  of  this 
Constitution  twenty-eight.  Through  this 
whole  term  the  Government  has  been  what 
may  emphatically  be  called  self-government. 
And  what  has  been  the  effect.?  To  whatever 
object  we  turn  our  attention,  whether  it  relates 
to  our  foreign  or  domestic  concerns,  we  find 
abundant  cause  to  felicitate  ourselves  in  the 
excellence  of  our  institutions.  During  a 
period  fraught  with  difficulties  and  marked  by 
very  extraordinary  events,  the  United  States 
have  flourished  beyond  example.  Their  citi- 
zens individually  have  been  happy  and  the 
nation  prosperous. 

Under  this  Constitution  our  commerce  has 
been  wisely  regulated  with  foreign  nations  and 
between  the  States;  new  States  have  been  ad- 
mitted into  our  Union;  our  territory  has  been 
enlarged  by  fair  and  honorable  treaty,  and 
with  great  advantage  to  the  original  States; 
the  States,  respectively  protected  by  the  Na- 

64 


S^ame^  flt^onroe 


tional  Government  under  a  mild,  parental  sys- 
tem against  foreign  dangers,  and  enjoying 
within  their  separate  spheres,  by  a  wise  parti- 
tion of  power,  a  just  proportion  of  the  sover- 
eignty, have  improved  their  police,  extended 
their  settlements,  and  attained  a  strength  and 
maturity  which  are  the  best  proofs  of  whole- 
some laws  well  administered.  And  if  we  look 
to  the  condition  of  individuals  what  a  proud 
spectacle  does  it  exhibit!  On  whom  has  op- 
pression fallen  in  any  quarter  of  our  Union? 
Who  has  been  deprived  of  any  right  of  person 
or  property?  Who  restrained  from  offering 
his  vows  in  the  mode  which  he  prefers  to  the 
Divine  Author  of  his  being?  It  is  well  known 
that  all  these  blessings  have  been  enjoyed  in 
their  fullest  extent;  and  I  add  with  pecuhar 
satisfaction  that  there  has  been  no  example  of 
a  capital  punishment  being  inflicted  on  any 
one  for  the  crime  of  high  treason. 

Some  who  might  admit  the  competency  of 
our  Government  to  these  beneficent  duties 
might  doubt  it  in  trials  which  put  to  the  test 
its  strength  and  efficiency  as  a  member  of  the 
great  community  of  nations.  Here  too  ex- 
perience has  afforded  us  the  most  satisfactory 
proof  in  its  favor.  Just  as  this  Constitution 
was  put  into  action  several  of  the  principal 
States  of  Europe  had  become  much  agitated 
and  some  of  them  seriously  convulsed.  De- 
structive wars  ensued,  which  have  of  late  only 
been  terminated.     In  the  course  of  these  con- 


65 


S^naugural  atitircjef^e^ 


flicts  the  United  States  received  great  injury 
from  several  of  the  parties.  It  was  their  in- 
terest to  stand  aloof  from  the  contest,  to 
demand  justice  from  the  party  committing  the 
injury,  and  to  cultivate  by  a  fair  and  honorable 
conduct  the  friendship  of  all.  War  became  at 
length  inevitable,  and  the  result  has  shown 
that  our  Government  is  equal  to  that,  the 
greatest  of  trials,  under  the  most  unfavorable 
circumstances.  Of  the  virtue  of  the  people 
and  of  the  heroic  exploits  of  the  Army,  the 
Navy,  and  the  militia  I  need  not  speak. 

Such,  then,  is  the  happy  Governm.ent  under 
which  we  live — a  Government  adequate  to 
every  purpose  for  which  the  social  compact  is 
formed;  a  Government  elective  in  all  its 
branches,  under  which  every  citizen  may  by 
his  merit  obtain  the  highest  trust  recognized 
by  the  Constitution;  which  contains  within  it 
no  cause  of  discord,  none  to  put  at  variance 
one  portion  of  the  community  with  another;  a 
Government  which  protects  every  citizen  in 
the  full  enjoyment  of  his  rights,  and  is  able  to 
protect  the  nation  against  injustice  from  for- 
eign powers. 

Other  considerations  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance admonish  us  to  cherish  our  Union  and 
to  cling  to  the  Government  which  supports  it. 
Fortunate  as  we  are  in  our  political  institu- 
tions, we  have  not  been  less  so  in  other  cir- 
cumstances on  which  our  prosperity  and 
happiness  essentially  depend.     Situated  within 

66 


S^ame^  Sl^anroe 


the  temperate  zone,  and  extending  through 
many  degrees  of  latitude  along  the  Atlantic, 
the  United  States  enjoy  all  the  varieties  of  cli- 
mate, and  every  production  incident  to  that 
portion  of  the  globe.  Penetrating  internally 
to  the  Great  Lakes  and  beyond  the  sources  of 
the  great  rivers  which  communicate  through 
our  whole  interior,  no  country  was  ever  hap- 
pier with  respect  to  its  domain.  Blessed,  too, 
with  a  fertile  soil,  our  produce  has  always  been 
very  abundant,  leaving,  even  in  years  the  least 
favorable,  a  surplus  for  the  wants  of  our  fel- 
lowmen  in  other  countries.  Such  is  our  pecu- 
liar felicity  that  there  is  not  a  part  of  our 
Union  that  is  not  particularly  interested  in 
preserving  it.  The  great  agricultural  interest 
of  the  nation  prospers  under  its  protection. 
Local  interests  are  not  less  fostered  by  it. 
Our  fellow-citizens  of  the  North  engaged  in 
navigation  find  great  encouragement  in  being 
made  the  favored  carriers  of  the  vast  produc- 
tions of  the  other  portions  of  the  United 
States,  while  the  inhabitants  of  these  are 
amply  recompensed,  in  their  turn,  by  the  nur- 
sery for  seamen  and  naval  force  thus  formed 
and  reared  up  for  the  support  of  our  common 
rights.  Our  manufactures  find  a  generous 
encouragement  by  the  policy  which  patronizes 
domestic  industry,  and  the  surplus  of  our  pro- 
duce a  steady  and  profitable  market  by  local 
wants  in  less  favored  parts  at  home. 

Such,  then,  being  the  highly  favored  condi- 

67 


3^nau0ural  atitirei^^e^ 


tion  of  our  country,  it  is  the  interest  of  every 
citizen  to  maintain  it.  What  are  the  dangers 
which  menace  us?  If  any  exist  they  ought  to 
be  ascertained  and  guarded  against. 

In  explaining  my  sentiments  on  this  subject 
it  may  be  asked,  What  raised  us  to  the  present 
happy  state?  How  did  we  accomphsh  the 
Revolution?  How  remedy  the  defects  of  the 
first  instrument  of  our  Union,  by  infusing  into 
the  National  Government  sufficient  power  for 
national  purposes,  without  impairing  the  just 
rights  of  the  States  or  affecting  those  of  indi- 
viduals? How  sustain  and  pass  with  glory 
through  the  late  war?  The  Government  has 
been  in  the  hands  of  the  people.  To  the  peo- 
ple, therefore,  and  to  the  faithful  and  able 
depositaries  of  their  trust  is  the  credit  due. 
Had  the  people  of  the  United  States  been  edu- 
cated in  different  principles,  had  they  been  less 
intelligent,  less  independent,  or  less  virtuous, 
can  it  be  believed  that  we  should  have  main- 
tained the  same  steady  and  consistent  career 
or  been  blessed  with  the  same  success? 
While,  then,  the  constituent  body  retains  its 
present  sound  and  healthful  state  everything 
will  be  safe.  They  will  choose  competent  and 
faithful  representatives  for  every  department. 
It  is  only  when  the  people  become  ignorant 
and  corrupt,  when  they  degenerate  into  a  popu- 
lace, that  they  are  incapable  of  exercising  the 
sovereignty.  Usurpation  is  then  an  easy 
attainment,  and  an  usurper  soon  found.     The 

68 


3^ame^  Monroe 


people  themselves  become  the  willing  instru- 
ments of  their  own  debasement  and  ruin.  Let 
us,  then,  look  to  the  great  cause,  and  endeavor 
to  preserve  it  in  full  force.  Let  us  by  all  wise 
and  constitutional  measures  promote  intelli- 
gence among  the  people  as  the  best  means  of 
preserving  our  liberties. 

Dangers  from  abroad  are  not  less  deserving 
of  attention.  Experiencing  the  fortune  of 
other  nations,  the  United  States  may  be  again 
involved  in  war,  and  it  may  in  that  event  be 
the  object  of  the  adverse  party  to  overset  our 
Government,  to  break  our  Union,  and  demolish 
us  as  a  nation.  Our  distance  from  Europe, 
and  the  just,  moderate,  and  pacific  poHcy  of 
our  Government  may  form  some  security 
against  these  dangers,  but  they  ought  to  be 
anticipated  and  guarded  against.  Many  of 
our  citizens  are  engaged  in  commerce  and 
navigation,  and  all  of  them  are  in  a  certain 
degree  dependent  on  their  prosperous  state. 
Many  are  engaged  in  the  fisheries.  These 
interests  are  exposed  to  invasion  in  the  wars 
between  other  powers,  and  we  should  disre- 
gard the  faithful  admonition  of  experience  if 
we  did  not  expect  it.  We  must  support  our 
rights  or  lose  our  character,  and  with  it,  per- 
haps, our  liberties.  A  people  who  fail  to  do 
it  can  scarcely  be  said  to  hold  a  place  among 
independent  nations.  National  honor  is  na- 
tional property  of  the  highest  value.  The 
sentiment    in   the    mind    of    every   citizen   is 

69 


S^naugural  ^\}hxt^^t^ 


national  strength.     It  ought  therefore  to  be 
cherished. 

To  secure  us  against  these  dangers  our  coast 
and  inland  frontiers  should  be  fortified,  our 
Army  and  Navy,  regulated  upon  just  principles 
as  to  the  force  of  each,  be  kept  in  perfect 
order,  and  our  militia  be  placed  on  the  best 
practicable  footing.  To  put  our  extensive 
coast  in  such  a  state  of  defense  as  to  secure 
our  cities  and  interior  from  invasion  will  be 
attended  with  expense,  but  the  work  when 
finished  will  be  permanent,  and  it  is  fair  to 
presume  that  a  single  campaign  of  invasion  by 
a  naval  force  superior  to  our  own,  aided  by  a 
few  thousand  land  troops,  would  expose  us  to 
greater  expense,  without  taking  into  the  esti- 
mate the  loss  of  property  and  distress  of  our 
citizens,  than  would  be  sufficient  for  this  great 
work.  Our  land  and  naval  forces  should  be 
moderate,  but  adequate  to  the  necessary  pur- 
poses— the  former  to  garrison  and  preserve 
our  fortifications  and  to  meet  the  first  inva- 
sions of  a  foreign  foe,  and,  while  constituting 
the  elements  of  a  greater  force,  to  preserve 
the  science  as  well  as  all  the  necessary  imple- 
ments of  war  in  a  state  to  be  brought  into 
activity  in  the  event  of  war;  the  latter,  retained 
within  the  limits  proper  in  a  state  of  peace, 
might  aid  in  maintaining  the  neutrality  of  the 
United  States  with  dignity  in  the  wars  of 
other  powers  and  in  saving  the  property  of 
their  citizens  from  spoliation.     In  time  of  war, 

70 


5^ameiB?  i^onroe 


with  the  enlargement  of  which  the  great  naval 
resources  of  the  country  render  it  susceptible, 
and  which  should  be  duly  fostered  in  time  of 
peace,  it  would  contribute  essentially,  both  as 
an  auxiliary  of  defense  and  as  a  powerful 
engine  of  annoyance,  to  diminish  the  calamities 
of  war,  and  to  bring  the  war  to  a  speedy  and 
honorable  termination. 

But  it  ought  always  to  be  held  prominently 
in  view  that  the  safety  of  these  States  and  of 
everything  dear  to  a  free  people  must  depend 
in  an  eminent  degree  on  the  militia.  Inva- 
sions may  be  made  too  formidable  to  be 
resisted  by  any  land  and  naval  force  which  it 
would  comport  either  with  the  principles  of 
our  Government  or  the  circumstances  of  the 
United  States  to  maintain.  In  such  cases 
recourse  must  be  had  to  the  great  body  of  the 
people,  and  in  a  manner  to  produce  the  best 
effect.  It  is  of  the  highest  importance,  there- 
fore, that  they  be  so  organized  and  trained  as 
to  be  prepared  for  any  emergency.  The  ar- 
rangement should  be  such  as  to  put  at  the 
command  of  the  Government  the  ardent 
patriotism  and  youthful  vigor  of  the  country. 
If  formed  on  equal  and  just  principles,  it  can- 
not be  oppressive.  It  is  the  crisis  which 
makes  the  pressure,  and  not  the  laws  which 
provide  a  remedy  for  it.  This  arrangement 
should  be  formed,  too,  in  time  of  peace,  to  be 
the  better  prepared  for  war.  With  such  an 
organization  of  such  a  people  the  United  States 

71 


^Fnaugural  ^hhtt^^t^ 


have  nothing  to  dread  from  foreign  invasion. 
At  its  approach  an  overwhelming  force  of  gal- 
lant men  might  always  be  put  in  motion. 

Other  interests  of  high  importance  will  claim 
attention,  among  which  the  improvement  of 
our  country  by  roads  and  canals,  proceeding 
always  with  a  constitutional  sanction,  holds  a 
distinguished  place.  By  thus  facilitating  the 
intercourse  between  the  States  we  shall  add 
much  to  the  convenience  and  comfort  of  our 
fellow-citizens,  much  to  the  ornament  of  the 
country,  and,  what  is  of  greater  importance, 
we  shall  shorten  distances,  and,  by  making 
each  part  more  accessible  to  and  dependent  on 
the  other,  we  shall  bind  the  Union  more  closely 
together.  Nature  has  done  so  much  for  us  by 
intersecting  the  country  with  so  many  great 
rivers,  bays,  and  lakes,  approaching  from  dis- 
tant points  so  near  to  each  other,  that  the 
inducement  to  complete  the  work  seems  to  be 
peculiarly  strong.  A  more  interesting  spec- 
tacle was  perhaps  never  seen  than  is  exhibited 
within  the  limits  of  the  United  States — a  ter- 
ritory so  vast  and  advantageously  situated, 
containing  objects  so  grand,  so  useful,  so  hap- 
pily connected  in  all  their  parts! 

Our  manufactures  will  likewise  require  the 
systematic  and  fostering  care  of  the  Govern- 
ment. Possessing  as  we  do  all  the  raw  ma- 
terials, the  fruit  of  our  own  soil  and  industry, 
we  ought  not  to  depend  in  the  degree  we  have 
done  on  supplies  from  other  countries.     While 

72 


S^ame^  ^^onroe 


we  are  thus  dependent  the  sudden  event  of 
war,  unsought  and  unexpected,  cannot  fail  to 
plunge  us  into  the  most  serious  difficulties.  It 
is  important,  too,  that  the  capital  which 
nourishes  our  manufactures  should  be  do- 
mestic, as  its  influence  in  that  case  instead  of 
exhausting,  as  it  may  do  in  foreign  hands, 
would  be  felt  advantageously  on  agriculture 
and  every  other  branch  of  industry.  Equally 
important  is  it  to  provide  at  home  a  market 
for  our  raw  materials,  as  by  extending  the 
competition  it  will  enhance  the  price  and  pro- 
tect the  cultivator  against  the  casualties  inci- 
dent to  foreign  markets. 

With  the  Indian  tribes  it  is  our  duty  to  culti- 
vate friendly  relations  and  to  act  with  kindness 
and  liberality  in  all  our  transactions.  Equally 
proper  is  it  to  persevere  in  our  efforts  to  extend 
to  them  the  advantages  of  civilization. 

The  great  amount  of  our  revenue  and  the 
flourishing  state  of  the  Treasury  are  a  full  proof 
of  the  competency  of  the  national  resources 
for  any  emergency,  as  they  are  of  the  willing- 
ness of  our  fellow-citizens  to  bear  the  burdens 
which  the  public  necessities  require.  The  vast 
amount  of  vacant  lands,  the  value  of  which 
daily  augments,  forms  an  additional  resource 
of  great  extent  and  duration.  These  resources, 
besides  accomplishing  every  other  necessary 
purpose,  put  it  completely  in  the  power  of  the 
United  States  to  discharge  the  national  debt 
at  an  early  period.     Peace  is  the  best  time  for 

73 


S^naugural  ^hhtt^^tg 


improvement  and  preparation  of  every  kind; 
it  is  in  peace  that  our  commerce  flourishes 
most,  that  taxes  are  most  easily  paid,  and  that 
the  revenue  is  most  productive. 

The  Executive  is  charged  officially  in  the 
departments  under  it  with  the  disbursement  of 
the  public  money,  and  is  responsible  for  the 
faithful  application  of  it  to  the  purposes  for 
which  it  is  raised.  The  Legislature  is  the 
watchful  guardian  over  the  public  purse.  It 
is  its  duty  to  see  that  the  disbursement  has 
been  honestly  made.  To  meet  the  requisite 
responsibility  every  facility  should  be  afforded 
to  the  Executive  to  enable  it  to  bring  the  pub- 
lic agents  intrusted  with  the  public  money 
strictly  and  promptly  to  account.  Nothing 
should  be  presumed  against  them;  but  if,  with 
the  requisite  facilities,  the  public  money  is 
suffered  to  lie  long  and  uselessly  in  their 
hands,  they  will  not  be  the  only  defaulters, 
nor  will  the  demoralizing  eff'ect  be  confined  to 
them.  It  will  evince  a  relaxation  and  want  of 
tone  in  the  Administration  which  will  be  felt 
by  the  whole  community.  I  shall  do  all  I  can 
to  secure  economy  and  fidelity  in  this  impor- 
tant branch  of  the  Administration,  and  I  doubt 
not  that  the  Legislature  will  perform  its  duty 
with  equal  zeal.  A  thorough  examination 
should  be  regularly  made,  and  I  will  promote  it. 

It  is  particularly  gratifying  to  me  to  enter 
on  the  discharge  of  these  duties  at  a  time 
when  the  United  States  are  blessed  with  peace. 

74 


S^ame^  a^onroe 


It  is  a  state  most  consistent  with  their  pros- 
perity and  happiness.  It  will  be  my  sincere 
desire  to  preserve  it,  so  far  as  depends  on  the 
Executive,  on  just  principles  with  all  nations, 
claiming  nothing  unreasonable  of  any  and  ren- 
dering to  each  what  is  its  due. 

Equally  gratifying  is  it  to  witness  the  in- 
creased harmony  of  opinion  which  pervades 
our  Union.  Discord  does  not  belong  to  our 
system.  Union  is  recommended  as  well  by 
the  free  and  benign  principles  of  our  Govern- 
ment, extending  its  blessings  to  every  indi- 
vidual, as  by  the  other  eminent  advantages 
attending  it.  The  American  people  have  en- 
countered together  great  dangers  and  sustained 
severe  trials  with  success.  They  constitute 
one  great  family  with  a  common  interest. 
Experience  has  enlightened  us  on  some  ques- 
tions of  essential  importance  to  the  country. 
The  progress  has  been  slow,  dictated  by  a  just 
reflection  and  a  faithful  regard  to  every  inter- 
est connected  with  it.  To  promote  this  har- 
mony in  accord  with  the  principles  of  our 
republican  Government  and  in  a  manner  to 
give  them  the  most  complete  effect,  and  to 
advance  in  all  other  respects  the  best  interests 
of  our  Union,  will  be  the  object  of  my  con- 
stant and  zealous  exertions. 

Never  did  a  government  commence  under 
auspices  so  favorable,  nor  ever  was  success  so 
complete.  If  we  look  to  the  history  of  other 
nations,   ancient  or  modern,   we  find  no  ex- 


75 


S^naugural  ^tititc^iefe^ 


ample  of  a  growth  so  rapid,  so  gigantic,  of  a 
people  so  prosperous  and  happy.  In  contem- 
plating what  we  have  still  to  perform,  the 
heart  of  every  citizen  must  expand  with  joy 
when  he  reflects  how  near  our  Government 
has  approached  to  perfection;  that  in  respect 
to  it  we  have  no  essential  improvement  to 
make;  that  the  great  object  is  to  preserve  it 
in  the  essential  principles  and  features  which 
characterize  it,  and  that  that  is  to  be  done  by 
preserving  the  virtue  and  enlightening  the 
minds  of  the  people;  and  as  a  security  against 
foreign  dangers  to  adopt  such  arrangements 
as  are  indispensable  to  the  support  of  our  in- 
dependence, our  rights  and  liberties.  If  we 
persevere  in  the  career  in  which  we  have  ad- 
vanced so  far  and  in  the  path  already  traced, 
we  cannot  fail,  under  the  favor  of  a  gracious 
Providence,  to  attain  the  high  destiny  which 
seems  to  await  us. 

In  the  administrations  of  the  illustrious  men 
who  have  preceded  me  in  this  high  station, 
with  some  of  whom  I  have  been  connected  by 
the  closest  ties  from  early  life,  examples  are 
presented  which  will  always  be  found  highly 
instructive  and  useful  to  their  successors. 
From  these  I  shall  endeavor  to  derive  all  the 
advantages  which  they  may  afford.  Of  my 
immediate  predecessor,  under  whom  so  impor- 
tant a  portion  of  this  great  and  successful  ex- 
periment has  been  made,  I  shall  be  pardoned 
for  expressing  my  earnest  wishes  that  he  may 

76 


S^ame^  <^onvot 


long  enjoy  in  his  retirement  the  affections  of 
a  grateful  country,  the  best  reward  of  exalted 
talents  and  the  most  faithful  and  meritorious 
services.  Relying  on  the  aid  to  be  derived 
from  the  other  departments  of  the  Govern- 
ment, I  enter  on  the  trust  to  which  I  have 
been  called  by  the  suffrages  of  my  fellow-citi- 
zens with  my  fervent  prayers  to  the  Almighty 
that  He  will  be  graciously  pleased  to  continue 
to  us  that  protection  which  He  has  already  so 
conspicuously  displayed  in  our  favor. 
March  4,  1817. 


77 


3Iame)S  ^omot 

SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


FELLOW-CITIZENS:  I  shall  not  at- 
tempt to  describe  the  grateful  emotions 
which  the  new  and  very  distinguished 
proof  of  the  confidence  of  my  fellow-citizens, 
evinced  by  my  re-election  to  this  high  trust, 
has  excited  in  my  bosom.  The  approbation 
which  it  announces  of  my  conduct  in  the 
preceding  term  affords  me  a  consolation  which 
I  shall  profoundly  feel  through  life.  The  gen- 
eral accord  with  which  it  has  been  expressed 
adds  to  the  great  and  never-ceasing  obliga- 
tions which  it  imposes.  To  merit  the  con- 
tinuance of  this  good  opinion,  and  to  carry  it 
with  me  into  my  retirement  as  the  solace  of 
advancing  years,  will  be  the  object  of  my 
most  zealous  and  unceasing  efforts. 

Having  no  pretentions  to  the  high  and  com- 
manding claims  of  my  predecessors,  whose 
names  are  so  much  more  conspicuously  identi- 
fied with  our  Revolution,  and  who  contributed 
so  pre-eminently  to  promote  its  success,  I  con- 
sider myself  rather  as  the  instrument  than  the 
cause  of  the  union  which  has  prevailed  in  the 
late  election.  In  surmounting,  in  favor  of  my 
humble  pretensions,  the  difficulties  which  so 
often  produce  division  in  like  occurrences,  it 

79 


S^naugural  aDDre^^efe^ 


is  obvious  that  other  powerful  causes,  indicat- 
ing the  great  strength  and  stabihty  of  our 
Union,  have  essentially  contributed  to  draw  you 
together.  That  these  powerful  causes  exist,  and 
that  they  are  permanent,  is  my  fixed  opinion; 
that  they  may  produce  a  like  accord  in  all 
questions  touching,  however  remotely,  the  lib- 
erty, prosperity,  and  happiness  of  our  country 
will  always  be  the  object  of  my  most  fervent 
prayers  to  the  Supreme  Author  of  All  Good. 
In  a  government  which  is  founded  by  the 
people,  who  possess  exclusively  the  sovereignty, 
it  seems  proper  that  the  person  who  may  be 
placed  by  their  suffrages  in  this  high  trust 
should  declare  on  commencing  its  duties  the 
principles  on  which  he  intends  to  conduct  the 
Administration.  If  the  person  thus  elected  has 
served  the  preceding  term,  an  opportunity  is 
afforded  him  to  review  its  principal  occurrences, 
and  to  give  such  further  explanation  respect- 
ing them  as  in  his  judgment  may  be  useful  to 
his  constituents.  The  events  of  one  year  have 
influence  on  those  of  another,  and,  in  like 
manner,  of  a  preceding  on  the  succeeding 
Administration.  The  movements  of  a  great 
nation  are  connected  in  all  their  parts.  If 
errors  have  been  committed  they  ought  to  be 
corrected;  if  the  policy  is  sound  it  ought  to  be 
supported.  It  is  by  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  whole  subject  that  our  fellow-citizens  are 
enabled  to  judge  correctly  of  the  past  and  to 
give  a  proper  direction  to  the  future. 

80 


5^amc^  ^ontot 


Just  before  the  commencement  of  the  last 
term  the  United  States  had  concluded  a  war 
with  a  very  powerful  nation  on  conditions  equal 
and  honorable  to  both  parties.  The  events  of 
that  war  are  too  recent  and  too  deeply  im- 
pressed on  the  memory  of  all  to  require  a 
development  from  me.  Our  commerce  had 
been  in  a  great  measure  driven  from  the  sea; 
our  Atlantic  and  inland  frontiers  were  invaded 
in  almost  every  part;  the  waste  of  life  along 
our  coast  and  on  some  parts  of  our  inland 
frontiers,  to  the  defense  of  which  our  gallant 
and  patriotic  citizens  were  called,  was  im- 
mense, in  addition  to  which  not  less  than  one 
hundred  and  twenty  million  dollars  were 
added  at  its  end  to  the  public  debt. 

As  soon  as  the  war  had  terminated,  the 
nation,  admonished  by  its  events,  resolved  to 
place  itself  in  a  situation  which  should  be  bet- 
ter calculated  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  a 
like  evil,  and  in  case  it  should  recur,  to  miti- 
gate its  calamities.  With  this  view,  after 
reducing  our  land  force  to  the  basis  of  a  peace 
establishment,  which  has  been  further  modi- 
fied since,  provision  was  made  for  the  con- 
struction of  fortifications  at  proper  points 
through  the  whole  extent  of  our  coast  and 
such  an  augmentation  of  our  naval  force  as 
should  be  well  adapted  to  both  purposes.  The 
laws  making  this  provision  were  passed  in  1815 
and  1 8 16,  and  it  has  been  since  the  constant 
effort  of  the  Executive  to  carry  them  into  effect. 

81 


^Fnaugural  3lDDre^^e^ 


The  advantage  of  these  fortifications  and  of 
an  augmented  naval  force  in  the  extent  con- 
templated, in  a  point  of  economy,  has  been 
fully  illustrated  by  a  report  of  the  Board  of 
Engineers  and  Naval  Commissioners  lately 
communicated  to  Congress,  by  which  it  ap- 
pears that  in  an  invasion  by  twenty  thousand 
men,  with  a  correspondent  naval  force,  in  a 
campaign  of  six  months  only,  the  whole  ex- 
pense of  the  construction  of  the  works  would 
be  defrayed  by  the  difference  in  the  sum  neces- 
sary to  maintain  the  force  which  would  be 
adequate  to  our  defense  with  the  aid  of  those 
works  and  that  which  would  be  incurred  with- 
out them.  The  reason  of  this  difference  is 
obvious.  If  fortifications  are  judiciously 
placed  on  our  great  inlets,  as  distant  from  our 
cities  as  circumstances  will  permit,  they  will 
form  the  only  points  of  attack,  and  the  enemy 
will  be  detained  there  by  a  small  regular  force 
a  sufficient  time  to  enable  our  militia  to  collect 
and  repair  to  that  on  which  the  attack  is  made. 
A  force  adequate  to  the  enemy,  collected  at 
that  single  point,  with  suitable  preparation  for 
such  others  as  might  be  menaced,  is  all  that 
would  be  requisite.  But  if  there  were  no 
fortifications,  then  the  enemy  might  go  where 
he  pleased,  and,  changing  his  position  and 
sailing  from  place  to  place,  our  force  must  be 
called  out  and  spread  in  vast  numbers  along 
the  whole  coast  and  on  both  sides  of  every 
bay  and  river  as  high  up  in  each  as  it  might  be 

82 


S^ame^  ^ontot 


navigable  for  ships  of  war.  By  these  fortifi- 
cations, supported  by  our  Navy,  to  which  they 
would  afford  like  support,  we  should  present 
to  other  powers  an  armed  front  from  St.  Croix 
to  the  Sabine,  which  would  protect  in  the 
event  of  war  our  whole  coast  and  interior  from 
invasion;  and  even  in  the  wars  of  other  pow- 
ers, in  which  we  were  neutral,  they  would  be 
found  eminently  useful,  as,  by  keeping  their 
public  ships  at  a  distance  from  our  cities, 
peace  and  order  in  them  would  be  preserved 
and  the  Government  be  protected  from  in- 
sult. 

It  need  scarcely  be  remarked  that  these 
measures  have  not  been  resorted  to  in  a  spirit 
of  hostility  to  other  powers.  Such  a  dispo- 
sition does  not  exist  toward  any  power.  Peace 
and  good  will  have  been,  and  will  hereafter  be, 
cultivated  with  all,  and  by  the  most  faithful 
regard  to  justice.  They  have  been  dictated 
by  a  love  of  peace,  of  economy,  and  an  earn- 
est desire  to  save  the  lives  of  our  fellow-citi- 
zens from  that  destruction  and  our  country 
from  that  devastation  which  are  inseparable 
from  war  when  it  finds  us  unprepared  for  it. 
It  is  believed,  and  experience  has  shown,  that 
such  a  preparation  is  the  best  expedient  that 
can  be  resorted  to  to  prevent  war.  I  add  with 
much  pleasure  that  considerable  progress  has 
already  been  made  in  these  measures  of 
defense,  and  that  they  will  be  completed  in  a 
few  years,   considering  the  great  extent  and 

83 


S^naugural  ^DDre^^e^ 


importance  of  the  object,  if  the  plan  be  zeal- 
ously and  steadily  persevered  in. 

The  conduct  of  the  Government  in  what 
relates  to  foreign  powers  is  always  an  object 
of  the  highest  importance  to  the  nation.  Its 
agriculture,  commerce,  manufactures,  fisher- 
ies, revenue,  in  short,  its  peace,  may  all  be 
affected  by  it.  Attention  is  therefore  due  to 
this  subject. 

At  the  period  adverted  to  the  powers  of 
Europe,  after  having  been  engaged  in  long 
and  destructive  wars  with  each  other,  had 
concluded  a  peace,  which  happily  still  exists. 
Our  peace  with  the  power  with  whom  we  had 
been  engaged  had  also  been  concluded.  The 
war  between  Spain  and  the  colonies  in  South 
America,  which  had  commenced  many  years 
before,  was  then  the  only  conflict  that  re- 
mained unsettled.  This  being  a  contest 
between  different  parts  of  the  same  commu- 
nity, in  which  other  powers  had  not  interfered, 
was  not  affected  by  their  accommodations. 

This  contest  was  considered  at  an  early 
stage  by  my  predecessor  a  civil  war  in  which 
the  parties  were  entitled  to  equal  rights  in  our 
ports.  This  decision,  the  first  made  by  any 
power,  being  formed  on  great  consideration  of 
the  comparative  strength  and  resources  of  the 
parties,  the  length  of  time,  and  successful 
opposition  made  by  the  colonies,  and  of  all 
other  circumstances  on  which  it  ought  to  de- 
pend,   was   in   strict   accord   v/ith   the  law  of 

84 


3^ame0  Sl^onroe 


nations.  Congress  has  invariably  acted  on 
this  principle,  having  made  no  change  in  our 
relations  with  either  party.  Our  attitude  has 
therefore  been  that  of  neutrahty  between  them, 
which  has  been  maintained  by  the  Government 
with  the  strictest  impartiality.  No  aid  has 
been  afforded  to  either,  nor  has  any  privilege 
been  enjoyed  by  the  one  which  has  not  been 
equally  open  to  the  other  party,  and  every 
exertion  has  been  made  in  its  power  to  enforce 
the  execution  of  the  laws  prohibiting  illegal 
equipments  with  equal  rigor  against  both. 

By  this  equahty  between  the  parties  their 
public  vessels  have  been  received  in  our  ports 
on  the  same  footing;  they  have  enjoyed  an 
equal  right  to  purchase  and  export  arms,  mu- 
nitions of  war,  and  every  other  supply,  the 
exportation  of  all  articles  whatever  being  per- 
mitted under  laws  which  were  passed  long 
before  the  commencement  of  the  contest;  our 
citizens  have  traded  equally  with  both,  and 
their  commerce  with  each  has  been  alike  pro- 
tected by  the  Government. 

Respecting  the  attitude  which  it  may  be 
proper  for  the  United  States  to  maintain  here- 
after between  the  parties,  I  have  no  hesitation 
in  stating  it  as  my  opinion  that  the  neutrality 
heretofore  observed  should  still  be  adhered  to. 
From  the  change  in  the  Government  of  Spain 
and  the  negotiation  now  depending,  invited  by 
the  Cortes  and  accepted  by  the  colonies,  it 
may  be  presumed  that  their  differences  will  be 

85 


S^naugural  atinreiefiBfe^ 


settled  on  the  terms  proposed  by  the  colonies. 
Should  the  war  be  continued,  the  United 
States,  regarding  its  occurrences,  will  always 
have  it  in  their  power  to  adopt  such  measures 
respecting  it  as  their  honor  and  interest  may 
require. 

Shortly  after  the  general  peace  a  band  of 
adventurers  took  advantage  of  this  conflict  and 
of  the  facility  which  it  afforded  to  establish  a 
system  of  buccaneering  in  the  neighboring 
seas,  to  the  great  annoyance  of  the  commerce 
of  the  United  States,  and,  as  was  represented, 
of  that  of  other  powers.  Of  this  spirit  and  of 
its  injurious  bearing  on  the  United  States 
strong  proofs  were  afforded  by  the  estabHsh- 
ijient  at  Amelia  Island,  and  the  purposes  to 
which  it  was  made  instrumental  by  this  band 
in  1817,  and  by  the  occurrences  which  took 
place  in  other  parts  of  Florida  in  1818,  the 
details  of  which  in  both  instances  are  too  well 
known  to  require  to  be  now  recited.  I  am 
satisfied  had  a  less  decisive  course  been 
adopted  that  the  worst  consequences  would 
have  resulted  from  it.  We  have  seen  that 
these  checks,  decisive  as  they  were,  were  not 
sufficient  to  crush  that  piratical  spirit.  Many 
culprits  brought  within  our  limits  have  been 
condemned  to  suffer  death,  the  punishment 
due  to  that  atrocious  crime.  The  decisions 
of  upright  and  enhghtened  tribunals  fall 
equally  on  all  whose  crimes  subject  them,  by  a 
fair  interpretation  of  the  law,  to  its  censure. 

86 


S^ame^  ^ontot 


It  belongs  to  the  Executive  not  to  suffer  the 
executions  under  these  decisions  to  transcend 
the  great  purpose  for  which  punishment  is 
necessary.  The  full  benefit  of  example  being 
secured,  policy  as  well  as  humanity  equally 
forbids  that  they  should  be  carried  further.  I 
have  acted  on  this  principle,  pardoning  those 
who  appear  to  have  been  led  astray  by  igno- 
rance of  the  criminality  of  the  acts  they  had 
committed,  and  suffering  the  law  to  take  effect 
on  those  only  in  whose  favor  no  extenuating 
circumstances  could  be  urged. 

Great  confidence  is  entertained  that  the  late 
treaty  with  Spain,  which  has  been  ratified  by 
both  the  parties,  and  the  ratifications  whereof 
have  been  exchanged,  has  placed  the  relations 
of  the  two  countries  on  a  basis  of  permanent 
friendship.  The  provision  made  by  it  for  such 
of  our  citizens  as  have  claims  on  Spain  of  the 
character  described  will,  it  is  presumed,  be 
very  satisfactory  to  them,  and  the  boundary 
which  is  established  between  the  territories  of 
the  parties  westward  of  the  Mississippi,  here- 
tofore in  dispute,  has,  it  is  thought,  been  set- 
tled on  conditions  just  and  advantageous  to 
both.  But  to  the  acquisition  of  Florida  too 
much  importance  cannot  be  attached.  It 
secures  to  the  United  States  a  territory  impor- 
tant in  itself,  and  whose  importance  is  much 
increased  by  its  bearing  on  many  of  the  high- 
est interests  of  the  Union.  It  opens  to  several 
of  the  neighboring  States  a  free  passage  to  the 

87 


^Fnaugural  ^bDre^^eie? 


ocean,  through  the  Province  ceded,  by  several 
rivers,  having  their  sources  high  up  within 
their  Hmits.  It  secures  us  against  all  future 
annoyance  from  powerful  Indian  tribes.  It 
gives  us  several  excellent  harbors  in  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  for  ships  of  war  of  the  largest  size. 
It  covers  by  its  position  in  the  Gulf  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  other  great  waters  within  our 
extended  limits,  and  thereby  enables  the  United 
States  to  afford  complete  protection  to  the 
vast  and  very  valuable  productions  of  our 
whole  Western  country,  which  find  a  market 
through  those  streams. 

By  a  treaty  with  the  British  Government, 
bearing  date  on  the  20th  of  October,  i8i8, 
the  convention  regulating  the  commerce 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
concluded  on  the  3d  of  July,  181 5,  which  was 
about  expiring,  was  revived  and  continued  for 
the  term  of  ten  years  from  the  time  of  its 
expiration.  By  that  treaty,  also,  the  differ- 
ences which  had  arisen  under  the  treaty  of 
Ghent  respecting  the  right  claimed  by  the 
United  States  for  their  citizens  to  take  and 
cure  fish  on  the  coast  of  His  Britannic  Ma- 
jesty's dominions  in  America,  with  other  differ- 
ences on  important  interests,  were  adjusted  to 
the  satisfaction  of  both  parties.  No  agree- 
ment has  yet  been  entered  into  respecting  the 
commerce  between  the  United  States  and  the 
British  dominions  in  the  West  Indies  and  on 
this   continent.     The   restraints    imposed    on 


^PamejBf  ^ontot 


that  commerce  by  Great  Britain,  and  recipro- 
cated by  the  United  States  on  a  principle  of 
defense,  continue  still  in  force. 

The  negotiation  with  France  for  the  regula- 
tion of  the  commercial  relations  between  the 
two  countries,  which  in  the  course  of  the  last 
summer  had  been  commenced  at  Paris,  has 
since  been  transferred  to  this  city,  and  will  be 
pursued  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  in 
the  spirit  of  conciliation,  and  with  an  earnest 
desire  that  it  may  terminate  in  an  arrangement 
satisfactory  to  both  parties. 

Our  relations  with  the  Barbary  Powers  are 
preserved  in  the  same  state  and  by  the  same 
means  that  were  employed  when  I  came  into 
this  office.  As  early  as  i8oi  it  was  found 
necessary  to  send  a  squadron  into  the  Mediter- 
ranean for  the  protection  of  our  commerce, 
and  no  period  has  intervened,  a  short  term 
excepted,  when  it  was  thought  advisable  to 
withdraw  it.  The  great  interests  which  the 
United  States  have  in  the  Pacific,  in  commerce 
and  in  the  fisheries,  have  also  made  it  neces- 
sary to  maintain  a  naval  force  there.  In  dis- 
posing of  this  force  in  both  instances  the  most 
effectual  measures  in  our  power  have  been 
taken,  without  interfering  with  its  other  duties, 
for  the  suppression  of  the  slave  trade  and  of 
piracy  in  the  neighboring  seas. 

The  situation  of  the  United  States  in  regard 
to  their  resources,  the  extent  of  their  revenue, 
and  the  facility  with  which  it  is  raised  afi"ords 

89 


S^naugural  aiDtirr^^eief 


a  most  gratifying  spectacle.  The  payment  of 
nearly  sixty-seven  million  dollars  of  the  public 
debt,  with  the  great  progress  made  in  measures 
of  defense  and  in  other  improvements  of  various 
kinds  since  the  late  war,  are  conclusive  proofs 
of  this  extraordinary  prosperity,  especially 
when  it  is  recollected  that  these  expenditures 
have  been  defrayed  without  a  burthen  on  the 
people,  the  direct  tax  and  excise  having  been 
repealed  soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the  late 
war,  and  the  revenue  applied  to  these  great 
objects  having  been  raised  in  a  manner  not  to 
be  felt.  Our  great  resources  therefore  remain 
untouched  for  any  purpose  which  may  affect 
the  vital  interests  of  the  nation.  For  all  such 
purposes  they  are  inexhaustible.  They  are 
more  especially  to  be  found  in  the  virtue, 
patriotism,  and  intelligence  of  our  fellow-citi- 
zens, and  in  the  devotion  with  which  they 
would  yield  up  by  any  just  measure  of  taxation 
all  their  property  in  support  of  the  rights  and 
honor  of  their  country. 

Under  the  present  depression  of  prices, 
affecting  all  the  productions  of  the  country 
and  every  branch  of  industry,  proceeding  from 
causes  explained  on  a  former  occasion,  the 
revenue  has  considerably  diminished,  the  effect 
of  which  has  been  to  compel  Congress  either 
to  abandon  these  great  measures  of  defense  or 
to  resort  to  loans  or  internal  taxes  to  supply 
the  deficiency.  On  the  presumption  that  this 
depression  and  the  deficiency  in  the  revenue 

90 


^amt$  ^ontot 


arising  from  it  would  be  temporary,  loans  were 
authorized  for  the  demands  of  the  last  and 
present  year.  Anxious  to  relieve  my  fellow- 
citizens  in  1817  from  every  burthen  which 
could  be  dispensed  with,  and  the  state  of  the 
Treasury  permitting  it,  I  recommended  the 
repeal  of  the  internal  taxes,  knowing  that 
such  relief  was  then  peculiarly  necessary  in 
consequence  of  the  great  exertions  made  in 
the  late  war.  I  made  that  recommendation 
under  a  pledge  that  should  the  public  exigen- 
cies require  a  recurrence  to  them  at  any  time 
while  I  remained  in  this  trust,  I  would  with 
equal  promptitude  perform  the  duty  which 
would  then  be  alike  incumbent  on  me.  By 
the  experiment  now  making  it  will  be  seen  by 
the  next  session  of  Congress  whether  the 
revenue  shall  have  been  so  augmented  as  to  be 
adequate  to  all  these  necessary  purposes. 
Should  the  deficiency  still  continue,  and  espe- 
cially should  it  be  probable  that  it  would  be 
permanent,  the  course  to  be  pursued  appears 
to  me  to  be  obvious.  I  am  satisfied  that  under 
certain  circumstances  loans  may  be  resorted 
to  with  great  advantage.  I  am  equally  well 
satisfied,  as  a  general  rule,  that  the  demands 
of  the  current  year,  especially  in  time  of  peace, 
should  be  provided  for  by  the  revenue  of  that 
year. 

I  have  never  dreaded,  nor  have  I  ever 
shunned,  in  any  situation  in  which  I  have  been 
placed  making  appeals  to  the  virtue  and  patriot- 

91 


5^naugural  aibDre^^e^ 


ism  of  my  fellow-citizens,  well  knowing  that 
they  could  never  be  made  in  vain,  especially 
in  times  of  great  emergency  or  for  purposes  of 
high  national  importance.  Independently  of 
the  exigency  of  the  case,  many  considerations 
of  great  weight  urge  a  policy  having  in  view  a 
provision  of  revenue  to  meet  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent the  demands  of  the  nation,  without  relying 
altogether  on  the  precarious  resource  of  foreign 
commerce.  I  am  satisfied  that  internal  duties 
and  excises,  with  corresponding  imposts  on 
foreign  articles  of  the  same  kind,  would,  with- 
out imposing  any  serious  burdens  on  the  peo- 
ple, enhance  the  price  of  produce,  promote 
our  manufactures,  and  augment  the  revenue, 
at  the  same  time  that  they  made  it  more  secure 
and  permanent. 

The  care  of  the  Indian  tribes  within  our 
limits  has  long  been  an  essential  part  of  our 
system,  but,  unfortunately,  it  has  not  been 
executed  in  a  manner  to  accomphsh  all  the 
objects  intended  by  it.  We  have  treated  them 
as  independent  nations,  without  their  having 
any  substantial  pretensions  to  that  rank.  The 
distinction  has  flattered  their  pride,  retarded 
their  improvement,  and  in  many  instances 
paved  the  way  to  their  destruction.  The  pro- 
gress of  our  settlements  westward,  supported 
as  they  are  by  a  dense  population,  has  con- 
stantly driven  them  back,  with  almost  the  total 
sacrifice  of  the  lands  which  they  have  been  com- 
pelled to  abandon.     They  have  claims  on  the 

92 


^amt^  Sl^onroe 


magnanimity,  and  I  may  add,  on  the  justice,  of 
this  nation  which  we  must  all  feel.  We  should 
become  their  real  benefactors;  we  should  per- 
form the  office  of  their  Great  Father,  the  en- 
dearmg  title  which  they  emphatically  give  to 
the  Chief  Magistrate  of  our  Union.  Their 
sovereignty  over  vast  territories  should  cease, 
in  lieu  of  which  the  right  of  soil  should  be 
secured  to  each  individual  and  his  posterity  in 
competent  portions;  and  for  the  territory  thus 
ceded  by  each  tribe  some  reasonable  equivalent 
should  be  granted,  to  be  vested  in  permanent 
funds  for  the  support  of  civil  government  over 
them  and  for  the  education  of  their  children, 
for  their  instruction  in  the  arts  of  husbandry, 
and  to  provide  sustenance  for  them  until  they 
could  provide  it  for  themselves.  My  earnest 
nope  is  that  Congress  will  digest  some  plan, 
founded  on  these  principles,  with  such  im- 
provements as  their  wisdom  may  suggest,  and 
carry  it  into  effect  as  soon  as  it  may  be  prac- 
ticable. 

Europe  is  again  unsettled  and  the  prospect 
of  war  increasing.  Should  the  flame  light  up 
in  any  quarter,  how  far  it  may  extend  it  is 
impossible  to  foresee.  It  is  our  peculiar  fe- 
licity to  be  altogether  unconnected  with  the 
causes  which  produce  this  menacing  aspect 
elsewhere.  With  every  power  we  are  in  per- 
fect amity,  and  it  is  our  interest  to  remain  so 
if  it  be  practicable  on  just  conditions.  I  see 
no   reasonable   cause   to   apprehend  variance 

93 


S^naugural  atDUrc^^^e^ 


with  any  power,  unless  it  proceed  from  a  vio- 
lation of  our  maritime  rights.  In  these  con- 
tests, should  they  occur,  and  to  whatever 
extent  they  may  be  carried,  we  shall  be  neutral; 
but  as  a  neutral  power  we  have  rights  which 
it  is  our  duty  to  maintain.  For  like  injuries 
it  will  be  incumbent  on  us  to  seek  redress  in  a 
spirit  of  amity,  in  full  confidence  that,  injuring 
none,  none  would  knowingly  injure  us.  For 
more  imminent  dangers  we  should  be  prepared, 
and  it  should  always  be  recollected  that  such 
preparation  adapted  to  the  circumstances  and 
sanctioned  by  the  judgment  and  wishes  of  our 
constituents  cannot  fail  to  have  a  good  effect 
in  averting  dangers  of  every  kind.  We  should 
recollect  also  that  the  season  of  peace  is  best 
adapted  to  these  preparations. 

If  we  turn  our  attention,  fellow-citizens, 
more  immediately  to  the  internal  concerns  of 
our  country,  and  more  especially  to  those  on 
which  its  future  welfare  depends,  we  have 
every  reason  to  anticipate  the  happiest  results. 
It  is  now  rather  more  than  forty-four  years 
since  we  declared  our  independence,  and  thirty- 
seven  since  it  was  acknowledged.  The  talents 
and  virtues  which  were  displayed  in  that  great 
struggle  were  a  sure  presage  of  all  that  has 
since  followed.  A  people  who  were  able  to 
surmount  in  their  infant  state  such  great  perils 
would  be  more  competent  as  they  rose  into 
manhood  to  repel  any  which  they  might  meet 
in    their    progress.     Their    physical    strength 

94 


S^ame^  ^ontot 


would  be  more  adequate  to  foreign  danger, 
and  the  practice  of  self-government,  aided  by 
the  light  of  experience,  could  not  fail  to  pro- 
duce an  effect  equally  salutary  on  all  those 
questions  connected  with  the  internal  organi- 
zation. These  favorable  anticipations  have 
been  realized. 

In  our  whole  system,  national  and  State, 
we  have  shunned  all  the  defects  which  unceas- 
ingly preyed  on  the  vitals  and  destroyed  the 
ancient  Republics.  In  them  there  were  dis- 
tinct orders,  a  nobility  and  a  people,  or  the 
people  governed  in  one  assembly.  Thus,  in 
the  one  instance  there  was  a  perpetual  conflict 
between  the  orders  in  society  for  the  ascend- 
ency, in  which  the  victory  of  either  terminated 
in  the  overthrow  of  the  government  and  the 
ruin  of  the  state;  in  the  other,  in  which  the 
people  governed  in  a  body,  and  whose  domin- 
ions seldom  exceeded  the  dimensions  of  a 
county  in  one  of  our  States,  a  tumultuous  and 
disorderly  movement  permitted  only  a  transi- 
tory existence.  In  this  great  nation  there  is 
but  one  order,  that  of  the  people,  whose 
power,  by  a  peculiarly  happy  improvement  of 
the  representative  principle,  is  transferred 
from  them,  without  impairing  in  the  slightest 
degree  their  sovereignty,  to  bodies  of  their 
own  creation,  and  to  persons  elected  by  them- 
selves, in  the  full  extent  necessary  for  all  the 
purposes  of  free,  enlightened,  and  efficient 
government.     The  whole   system  is  elective, 

95 


S^naugural  3ltiDreiefi0?eie? 


the  complete  sovereignty  being  in  the  people, 
and  every  officer  in  every  department  deriving 
his  authority  from  and  being  responsible  to 
them  for  his  conduct. 

Our  career  has  corresponded  with  this  great 
outline.  Perfection  in  our  organization  could 
not  have  been  expected  in  the  outset  either  in 
the  National  or  State  Governments,  or  in  tra- 
cing the  line  between  their  respective  powers. 
But  no  serious  conflict  has  arisen,  nor  any 
contest  but  such  as  are  managed  by  argument 
and  by  a  fair  appeal  to  the  good  sense  of  the 
people,  and  many  of  the  defects  which  experi- 
ence had  clearly  demonstrated  in  both  Govern- 
ments have  been  remedied.  By  steadily 
pursuing  this  course  in  this  spirit  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  our  system  will 
soon  attain  the  highest  degree  of  perfection  of 
which  human  institutions  are  capable,  and  that 
the  movement  in  all  its  branches  will  exhibit 
such  a  degree  of  order  and  harmony  as  to 
command  the  admiration  and  respect  of  the 
civilized  world. 

Our  physical  attainments  have  not  been  less 
eminent.  Twenty-five  years  ago  the  river 
Mississippi  was  shut  up  and  our  Western 
brethren  had  no  outlet  for  their  commerce. 
What  has  been  the  progress  since  that  time.? 
The  river  has  not  only  become  the  property  of 
the  United  States  from  its  source  to  the  ocean, 
with  all  its  tributary  streams  (with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  upper  part  of  the  Red  River  only), 
96 


^amt^  la^onroe 


but  Louisiana,  with  a  fair  and  liberal  boundary 
on  the  western  side  and  the  Floridas  on  the 
eastern,  have  been  ceded  to  us.  The  United 
States  now  enjoy  the  complete  and  uninter- 
rupted sovereignty  over  the  whole  territory 
from  St.  Croix  to  the  Sabine.  New  States, 
settled  from  among  ourselves  in  this  and  in 
other  parts,  have  been  admitted  into  our  Union 
in  equal  participation  in  the  national  sover- 
eignty with  the  original  States.  Our  popula- 
tion has  augmented  in  an  astonishing  degree, 
and  extended  in  every  direction.  We  now, 
fellow-citizens,  comprise  within  our  limits  the 
dimensions  and  faculties  of  a  great  power  under 
a  Government  possessing  all  the  energies  of 
any  government  ever  known  to  the  Old  World, 
with  an  utter  incapacity  to  oppress  the  people. 

Entering  with  these  views  the  office  which  I 
have  just  solemnly  sworn  to  execute  with  fidel- 
ity and  to  the  utmost  of  my  ability,  I  derive 
great  satisfaction  from  a  knowledge  that  I 
shall  be  assisted  in  the  several  Departments  by 
the  very  enlightened  and  upright  citizens  from 
whom  I  have  received  so  much  aid  in  the  pre- 
ceding term.  With  full  confidence  in  the 
continuance  of  that  candor  and  generous  indul- 
gence from  my  fellow-citizens  at  large  which  I 
have  heretofore  experienced,  and  with  a  firm 
reliance  on  the  protection  of  Almighty  God,  I 
shall  forthwith  commence  the  duties  of  the 
high  trust  to  which  you  have  called  me. 

March  5,  182 1. 

97 


INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


IN  compliance  with  an  usage  coeval  with 
the  existence  of  our  Federal  Constitution, 
and  sanctioned  by  the  example  of  my  pre- 
decessors in  the  career  upon  which  I  am  about 
to  enter,  I  appear,  my  fellow-citizens,  in  your 
presence  and  in  that  of  Heaven  to  bind  myself 
by  the  solemnities  of  religious  obligation  to  the 
faithful  performance  of  the  duties  allotted  to 
me  in  the  station  to  which  I  have  been  called. 
In  unfolding  to  my  countrymen  the  principles 
by  which  I  shall  be  governed  in  the  fulfillment 
of  those  duties  my  first  resort  will  be  to  that 
Constitution  which  I  shall  swear  to  the  best  of 
my  abihty  to  preserve,  protect,  and  defend. 
That  revered  instrument  enumerates  the  pow- 
ers and  prescribes  the  duties  of  the  Executive 
Magistrate,  and  in  its  first  words  declares  the 
purposes  to  which  these  and  the  whole  action 
of  the  Government  instituted  by  it  should  be 
invariably  and  sacredly  devoted — to  form  a 
more  perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure 
domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common 
defense,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and 
secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  the  people  of 
this  Union  in  their  successive  generations. 
Since  the  adoption  of  this  social  compact  one 

99 


S^naugural  ^txhttf^^tfi 


of  these  generations  has  passed  away.  It  is 
the  work  of  our  forefathers.  Administered  by 
some  of  the  most  eminent  men  who  contributed 
to  its  formation,  through  a  most  eventful  period 
in  the  annals  of  the  world,  and  through  all  the 
vicissitudes  of  peace  and  war  incidental  to  the 
condition  of  associated  man,  it  has  not  disap- 
pointed the  hopes  and  aspirations  of  those 
illustrious  benefactors  of  their  age  and  nation. 
It  has  promoted  the  lasting  welfare  of  that 
country  so  dear  to  us  all;  it  has  to  an  extent 
far  beyond  the  ordinary  lot  of  humanity  secured 
the  freedom  and  happiness  of  this  people.  We 
now  receive  it  as  a  precious  inheritance  from 
those  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  its  estab- 
lishment, doubly  bound  by  the  examples  which 
they  have  left  us  and  by  the  blessings  which 
we  have  enjoyed  as  the  fruits  of  their  labors  to 
transmit  the  same  unimpaired  to  the  succeed- 
ing generation. 

In  the  compass  of  thirty-six  years  since  this 
great  national  covenant  was  instituted,  a  body 
of  laws,  enacted  under  its  authority  and  in 
conformity  with  its  provisions  has  unfolded 
its  powers  and  carried  into  practical  operation 
its  effective  energies.  Subordinate  depart- 
ments have  distributed  the  executive  functions 
in  their  various  relations  to  foreign  affairs,  to 
the  revenue  and  expenditures,  and  to  the  mih- 
tary  force  of  the  Union  by  land  and  sea.  A 
co-ordinate  department  of  the  judiciary  has 
expounded  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  set- 

100 


5^ol)n  OBuincp  ^Dam0 


tling  in  harmonious  coincidence  with  the  legis- 
lative will  numerous  weighty  questions  of 
construction  which  the  imperfection  of  human 
language  had  rendered  unavoidable.  The  year 
of  jubilee  since  the  first  formation  of  our  Union 
has  just  elapsed;  that  of  the  declaration  of  our 
independence  is  at  hand.  The  consummation 
of  both  was  effected  by  this  Constitution. 

Since  that  period  a  population  of  four  mil- 
lions has  multiplied  to  twelve.  A  territory 
bounded  by  the  Mississippi  has  been  extended 
from  sea  to  sea.  New  States  have  been  admit- 
ted to  the  Union  in  numbers  nearly  equal  to 
those  of  the  first  Confederation.  Treaties  of 
peace,  amity,  and  commerce  have  been  con- 
cluded with  the  principal  dominions  of  the 
earth.  The  people  of  other  nations,  inhabi- 
tants of  regions  acquired  not  by  conquest,  but 
by  compact,  have  been  united  with  us  in  the 
participation  of  our  rights  and  duties,  of  our 
burdens  and  blessings.  The  forest  has  fallen 
by  the  ax  of  our  woodsmen;  the  soil  has  been 
made  to  teem  by  the  tillage  of  our  farmers; 
our  commerce  has  widened  every  ocean.  The 
dominion  of  man  over  physical  nature  has  been 
extended  by  the  invention  of  our  artists.  Lib- 
erty and  law  have  marched  hand  in  hand.  All 
the  purposes  of  human  association  have  been 
accomphshed  as  effectively  as  under  any  other 
government  on  the  globe,  and  at  a  cost  little 
exceeding  in  a  whole  generation  the  expendi- 
ture of  other  nations  in  a  single  year. 

lOI 


^^naugural  a^DDte^^e^ 


Such  is  the  unexaggerated  picture  of  our 
condition  under  a  Constitution  founded  upon 
the  republican  principle  of  equal  rights.  To 
admit  that  this  picture  has  its  shades  is  but  to 
say  that  it  is  still  the  condition  of  men  upon 
earth.  From  evil — physical,  moral,  and  politi- 
cal— it  is  not  our  claim  to  be  exempt.  We 
have  suffered  sometimes  by  the  visitation  of 
Heaven  through  disease;  often  by  the  wrongs 
and  injustice  of  other  nations,  even  to  the 
extremities  of  war;  and,  lastly,  by  dissensions 
among  ourselves — dissensions  perhaps  insepar- 
able from  the  enjoyment  of  freedom,  but  which 
have  more  than  once  appeared  to  threaten  the 
dissolution  of  the  Union,  and  with  it  the  over- 
throw of  all  the  enjoyments  of  our  present  lot 
and  all  our  earthly  hopes  of  the  future.  The 
causes  of  these  dissensions  have  been  various, 
founded  upon  differences  of  speculation  in  the 
theory  of  republican  government;  upon  con- 
flicting views  of  policy  in  our  relations  with 
foreign  nations;  upon  jealousies  of  partial  and 
sectional  interests,  aggravated  by  prejudices 
and  prepossessions  which  strangers  to  each 
other  are  ever  apt  to  entertain. 

It  is  a  source  of  gratification  and  of  encour- 
agement to  me  to  observe  that  the  great  result 
of  this  experiment  upon  the  theory  of  human 
rights  has  at  the  close  of  that  generation  by 
which  it  was  formed  been  crowned  with  suc- 
cess equal  to  the  most  sanguine  expectations 
of  its  founders.     Union,  justice,  tranquillity, 

102 


S^Dl^n  aSuincp  ^bam^af 


the  common  defense,  the  general  welfare,  and 
the  blessings  of  liberty — all  have  been  promoted 
by  the  Government  under  which  we  have  lived. 
Standing  at  this  point  of  time,  looking  back  to 
that  generation  which  has  gone  by  and  forward 
to  that  which  is  advancing,  we  may  at  once 
indulge  in  grateful  exultation  and  in  cheering 
hope.  From  the  experience  of  the  past  we 
derive  instructive  lessons  for  the  future.  Of 
the  two  great  pohtical  parties  which  have 
divided  the  opinions  and  feelings  of  our  coun- 
try, the  candid  and  the  just  will  now  admit  that 
both  have  contributed  splendid  talents,  spot- 
less integrity,  ardent  patriotism,  and  disinter- 
ested sacrifices  to  the  formation  and  adminis- 
tration of  this  Government,  and  that  both 
have  required  a  liberal  indulgence  for  a  portion 
of  human  infirmity  and  error.  The  revolution- 
ary wars  of  Europe,  commencing  precisely  at 
the  moment  when  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  first  went  into  operation  under 
this  Constitution,  excited  a  collision  of  senti- 
ments and  of  sympathies  which  kindled  all  the 
passions  and  imbittered  the  conflict  of  parties 
till  the  nation  was  involved  in  war  and  the 
Union  was  shaken  to  its  center.  This  time  of 
trial  embraced  a  period  of  five  and  twenty 
years,  during  which  the  policy  of  the  Union  in 
its  relations  with  Europe  constituted  the  prin- 
cipal basis  of  our  political  divisions  and  the 
most  arduous  part  of  the  action  of  our  Federal 
Government.     With  the  catastrophe  in  which 

103 


S^naugural  atitire^^e0 


the  wars  of  the  French  Revolution  terminated, 
and  our  own  subsequent  peace  with  Great 
Britain,  this  baneful  weed  of  party  strife  was 
uprooted.  From  that  time  no  difference  of 
principle,  connected  either  with  the  theory  of 
government  or  with  our  intercourse  with 
foreign  nations,  has  existed  or  been  called 
forth  in  force  sufficient  to  sustain  a  continued 
combination  of  parties  or  to  give  more  than 
wholesome  animation  to  public  sentiment  or 
legislative  debate.  Our  political  creed  is, 
without  a  dissenting  voice  that  can  be  heard, 
that  the  will  of  the  people  is  the  source  and 
the  happiness  of  the  people  the  end  of  all  legiti- 
mate government  upon  earth;  that  the  best 
security  for  the  beneficence  and  the  best  guar- 
anty against  the  abuse  of  power  consists  in  the 
freedom,  the  purity,  and  the  frequency  of 
popular  elections;  that  the  General  Govern- 
ment of  the  Union  and  the  separate  govern- 
ments of  the  States  are  all  sovereignties  of 
limited  powers,  fellow-servants  of  the  same 
masters,  uncontrolled  within  their  respective 
spheres,  uncontrollable  by  encroachments 
upon  each  other;  that  the  firmest  security  of 
peace  is  the  preparation  during  peace  of  the 
defenses  of  war;  that  a  rigorous  economy  and 
accountability  of  public  expenditures  should 
guard  against  the  aggravation  and  alleviate 
when  possible  the  burden  of  taxation;  that  the 
military  should  be  kept  in  strict  subordination 
to  the  civil  power;  that  the  freedom  of  the 

104 


S^Dl)!!  OBuincp  aitiamief 


press  and  of  religious  opinion  should  be  invio- 
late; that  the  policy  of  our  country  is  peace 
and  the  ark  of  our  salvation  union  are  articles 
of  faith  upon  which  we  are  all  now  agreed.  If 
there  have  been  those  who  doubted  whether  a 
confederated  representative  democracy  were 
a  government  competent  to  the  wise  and  orderly 
management  of  the  common  concerns  of  a 
mighty  nation,  those  doubts  have  been  dis- 
pelled; if  there  have  been  projects  of  partial 
confederacies  to  be  erected  upon  the  ruins  of 
the  Union,  they  have  been  scattered  to  the 
winds;  if  there  have  been  dangerous  attach- 
ments to  one  foreign  nation  and  antipathies 
against  another,  they  have  been  extinguished. 
Ten  years  of  peace,  at  home  and  abroad,  have 
assuaged  the  animosities  of  political  contention 
and  blended  into  harmony  the  most  discordant 
elements  of  public  opinion.  There  still  re- 
mains one  effort  of  magnanimity,  one  sacrifice 
of  prejudice  and  passion,  to  be  made  by  the 
individuals  throughout  the  nation  who  have 
heretofore  followed  the  standards  of  political 
party.  It  is  that  of  discarding  every  remnant 
of  rancor  against  each  other,  of  embracing  as 
countrymen  and  friends,  and  of  yielding  to 
talents  and  virtue  alone  that  confidence  which 
in  times  of  contention  for  principle  v/as 
bestowed  only  upon  those  who  bore  the  badge 
of  party  communion. 

The  collisions  of  party  spirit  which  originate 
in  speculative  opinions  or  in  different  views  of 

105 


S^naugural  atiDre^^e^ef 


administrative  policy  are  in  their  nature  tran- 
sitory. Those  which  are  founded  on  geo- 
graphical divisions,  adverse  interests  of  soil, 
climate,  and  modes  of  domestic  life  are  more 
permanent,  and  therefore,  perhaps,  more  dan- 
gerous. It  is  this  which  gives  inestimable 
value  to  the  character  of  our  Government,  at 
once  federal  and  national.  It  holds  out  to  us 
a  perpetual  admonition  to  preserve  alike  and 
with  equal  anxiety  the  rights  of  each  individual 
State  in  its  own  government  and  the  rights  of 
the  whole  nation  in  that  of  the  Union.  What- 
soever is  of  domestic  concernment,  uncon- 
nected with  the  other  members  of  the  Union 
or  with  foreign  lands,  belongs  exclusively  to 
the  administration  of  the  State  governments. 
Whatsoever  directly  involves  the  rights  and 
interests  of  the  federative  fraternity  or  of  for- 
eign powers  is  of  the  resort  of  this  General 
Government.  The  duties  of  both  are  obvious 
in  the  general  principle,  though  sometimes 
perplexed  with  difficulties  in  the  detail.  To 
respect  the  rights  of  the  State  governments  is 
the  inviolable  duty  of  that  of  the  Union;  the 
government  of  every  State  will  feel  its  own 
obligation  to  respect  and  preserve  the  rights  of 
the  whole.  The  prejudices  everywhere  too 
commonly  entertained  against  distant  strangers 
are  worn  away,  and  the  jealousies  of  jarring 
interests  are  allayed  by  the  composition  and 
functions  of  the  great  national  councils  annu- 
ally assembled  from  all  quarters  of  the  Union 

io6 


5^Dl)n  <©uincp  atiani^ 


at  this  place.  Here  the  distinguished  men 
from  every  section  of  our  country,  while  meet- 
ing to  deliberate  upon  the  great  interests  of 
those  by  whom  they  are  deputed,  learn  to 
estimate  the  talents  and  do  justice  to  the  vir- 
tues of  each  other.  The  harmony  of  the 
nation  is  promoted  and  the  whole  Union  is 
knit  together  by  the  sentiments  of  mutual 
respect,  the  habits  of  social  intercourse,  and 
the  ties  of  personal  friendship  formed  between 
the  representatives  of  its  several  parts  in  the 
performance  of  their  service  at  this  metropolis. 
Passing  from  this  general  review  of  the  pur- 
poses and  injunctions  of  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion and  their  results  as  indicating  the  first 
traces  of  the  path  of  duty  in  the  discharge  of 
my  public  trust,  I  turn  to  the  Administration 
of  my  immediate  predecessor  as  the  second. 
It  has  passed  away  in  a  period  of  profound 
peace,  how  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  our 
country  and  to  the  honor  of  our  country's  name 
is  known  to  you  all.  The  great  features  of  its 
policy,  in  general  concurrence  with  the  will  of 
the  Legislature,  have  been  to  cherish  peace 
while  preparing  for  defensive  war;  to  yield 
exact  justice  to  other  nations  and  maintain  the 
rights  of  our  own;  to  cherish  the  principles  of 
freedom  and  of  equal  rights  wherever  they 
were  proclaimed;  to  discharge  with  all  pos- 
sible promptitude  the  national  debt;  to  reduce 
within  the  narrowest  limits  of  efficiency  the 
military  force;    to  improve  the  organization 

107 


3^naugural  atititeiBf^e^ 


and  discipline  of  the  Army;  to  provide  and 
sustain  a  school  of  military  science;  to  extend 
equal  protection  to  all  the  great  interests  of 
the  nation;  to  promote  the  civihzation  of  the 
Indian  tribes,  and  to  proceed  in  the  great 
system  of  internal  improvements  within  the 
limits  of  the  constitutional  power  of  the  Union. 
Under  the  pledge  of  these  promises,  made  by 
that  eminent  citizen  at  the  time  of  his  first 
induction  to  this  office,  in  his  career  of  eight 
years  the  internal  taxes  have  been  repealed; 
sixty  millions  of  the  public  debt  have  been  dis- 
charged; provision  has  been  made  for  the 
comfort  and  relief  of  the  aged  and  indigent 
among  the  surviving  warriors  of  the  Revolu- 
tion; the  regular  armed  force  has  been  reduced 
and  its  constitution  revised  and  perfected;  the 
accountability  for  the  expenditure  of  pubHc 
moneys  has  been  made  more  effective;  the 
Floridas  have  been  peaceably  acquired,  and  our 
boundary  has  been  extended  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean;  the  independence  of  the  southern 
nations  of  this  hemisphere  has  been  recog- 
nized, and  recommended  by  example  and  by 
counsel  to  the  potentates  of  Europe;  progress 
has  been  made  in  the  defense  of  the  country 
by  fortifications  and  the  increase  of  the  Navy, 
toward  the  effectual  suppression  of  the  African 
traffic  in  slaves,  in  alluring  the  aboriginal  hunt- 
ers of  our  land  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil 
and  of  the  mind,  in  exploring  the  interior 
regions  of   the  Union,   and  in  preparing  by 

io8 


3^ol)n  oSuincp  atiam^ 


scientific  researches  and  surveys  for  the  fur- 
ther appHcation  of  our  national  resources  to 
the  internal  improvement  of  our  country. 

In  this  brief  outline  of  the  promise  and  per- 
formance of  my  immediate  predecessor  the  line 
of  duty  for  his  successor  is  clearly  delineated. 
To  pursue  to  their  consummation  those  pur- 
poses of  improvement  in  our  common  condi- 
tion instituted  or  recommended  by  him  will 
embrace  the  whole  sphere  of  my  obligations. 
To  the  topic  of  internal  improvement,  em- 
phatically urged  by  him  at  his  inauguration,  I 
recur  with  peculiar  satisfaction.  It  is  that 
from  which  I  am  convinced  that  the  unborn 
millions  of  our  posterity  who  are  in  future  ages 
to  people  this  continent  will  derive  their  most 
fervent  gratitude  to  the  founders  of  the  Union; 
that  in  which  the  beneficent  action  of  its  Gov- 
ernment will  be  most  deeply  felt  and  acknowl- 
edged. The  magnificence  and  splendor  of 
their  public  works  are  among  the  imperishable 
glories  of  the  ancient  republics.  The  roads 
and  aqueducts  of  Rome  have  been  the  admira- 
tion of  all  after  ages,  and  have  survived  thou- 
sands of  years  after  all  her  conquests  have 
been  swallowed  up  in  despotism  or  become  the 
spoil  of  barbarians.  Some  diversity  of  opinion 
has  prevailed  with  regard  to  the  powers  of 
Congress  for  legislation  upon  objects  of  this 
nature.  The  most  respectful  deference  is  due 
to  doubts  originating  in  pure  patriotism  and 
sustained  by  venerated  authority.     But  nearly 

109 


S^naugutal  atJtire^^etf 


twenty  years  have  passed  since  the  construc- 
tion of  the  first  national  road  was  commenced. 
The  authority  for  its  construction  was  then 
unquestioned.  To  how  many  thousands  of 
our  countrymen  has  it  proved  a  benefit.''  To 
what  single  individual  has  it  ever  proved  an 
injury?  Repeated,  liberal,  and  candid  discus- 
sions in  the  Legislature  have  conciliated  the 
sentiments  and  approximated  the  opinions  of 
enlightened  minds  upon  the  question  of  con- 
stitutional power.  I  cannot  but  hope  that  by 
the  same  process  of  friendly,  patient,  and  per- 
severing deliberation  all  constitutional  objec- 
tions will  ultimately  be  removed.  The  extent 
and  hmitation  of  the  powers  of  the  General 
Government  in  relation  to  this  transcendently 
important  interest  will  be  settled  and  acknowl- 
edged to  the  common  satisfaction  of  all,  and 
every  speculative  scruple  will  be  solved  by  a 
practical  public  blessing. 

Fellow-citizens,  you  are  acquainted  with  the 
peculiar  circumstances  of  the  recent  election, 
which  have  resulted  in  affording  me  the  op- 
portunity of  addressing  you  at  this  time.  You 
have  heard  the  exposition  of  the  principles 
which  will  direct  me  in  the  fulfillment  of  the 
high  and  solemn  trust  imposed  upon  me  in  this 
station.  Less  possessed  of  your  confidence  in 
advance  than  any  of  my  predecessors,  I  am 
deeply  conscious  of  the  prospect  that  I  shall 
stand  more  and  oftener  in  need  of  your  indul- 
gence.    Intentions  upright  and  pure,  a  heart 

no 


^oi^n  OSuincp  2ltiam0 


devoted  to  the  welfare  of  our  country,  and  the 
unceasing  appHcation  of  all  the  faculties  allot- 
ted to  me  to  her  service  are  all  the  pledges 
that  I  can  give  for  the  faithful  performance  of 
the  arduous  duties  I  am  to  undertake.  To  the 
guidance  of  the  legislative  councils,  to  the 
assistance  of  the  executive  and  subordinate 
departments,  to  the  friendly  co-operation  of 
the  respective  State  governments,  to  the  can- 
did and  liberal  support  of  the  people  so  far  as 
it  may  be  deserved  by  honest  industry  and 
zeal,  I  shall  look  for  whatever  success  may 
attend  my  public  service;  and  knowing  that 
"except  the  Lord  keep  the  city  the  watchman 
waketh  but  in  vain,"  with  fervent  supplications 
for  His  favor,  to  His  overruling  providence  I 
commit  with  humble  but  fearless  confidence 
my  own  fate  and  the  future  destinies  of  my 
country. 

March  4,  1825. 


Ill 


7    ,      ?.^ 


FIRST  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


FELLOW-CITIZENS :  About  to  under- 
take the  arduous  duties  that  I  have  been 
appointed  to  perform  by  the  choice  of 
a  free  people,  I  avail  myself  of  this  customary 
and  solemn  occasion  to  express  the  gratitude 
which  their  confidence  inspires  and  to  acknowl- 
edge the  accountability  which  my  situation 
enjoins.  While  the  magnitude  of  their  inter- 
ests convinces  me  that  no  thanks  can  be  ade- 
quate to  the  honor  they  have  conferred,  it 
admonishes  me  that  the  best  return  I  can 
make  is  the  zealous  dedication  of  my  humble 
abilities  to  their  service  and  their  good. 

As  the  instrument  of  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion it  will  devolve  on  me  for  a  stated  period 
to  execute  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  to 
superintend  their  foreign  and  their  confederate 
relations,  to  manage  their  revenue,  to  com- 
mand their  forces,  and,  by  communications  to 
the  Legislature,  to  watch  over  and  to  promote 
their  interests  generally.  And  the  principles 
of  action  by  which  I  shall  endeavor  to  accom- 
pHsh  this  circle  of  duties  it  is  now  proper  for 
me  briefly  to  explain. 

In  administering  the  laws  of  Congress  I  shall 
keep  steadily  in  view  the  limitations  as  well  as 

"3 


^Fnaugural  abUre^^e^e^ 


the  extent  of  the  Executive  power,  trusting 
thereby  to  discharge  the  functions  of  my  office 
without  transcending  its  authority.  With 
foreign  nations  it  will  be  my  study  to  preserve 
peace  and  to  cultivate  friendship  on  fair  and 
honorable  terms,  and  in  the  adjustment  of  any 
differences  that  may  exist  or  arise  to  exhibit 
the  forbearance  becoming  a  powerful  nation 
rather  than  the  sensibility  belonging  to  a  gal- 
lant people. 

In  such  measures  as  I  may  be  called  on  to 
pursue  in  regard  to  the  rights  of  the  separate 
States  I  hope  to  be  animated  by  a  proper 
respect  for  those  sovereign  members  of  our 
Union,  taking  care  not  to  confound  the 
powers  they  have  reserved  to  themselves 
with  those  they  have  granted  to  the  Confed- 
eracy. 

The  management  of  the  public  revenue — 
that  searching  operation  in  all  governments 
— is  among  the  most  delicate  and  important 
trusts  in  ours,  and  it  will,  of  course,  demand 
no  inconsiderable  share  of  my  official  solici- 
tude. Under  every  aspect  in  which  it  can  be 
considered  it  would  appear  that  advantage 
must  result  from  the  observance  of  a  strict 
and  faithful  economy.  This  I  shall  aim  at  the 
more  anxiously  both  because  it  will  facilitate 
the  extinguishment  of  the  national  debt,  the 
unnecessary  duration  of  which  is  incompatible 
with  real  independence,  and  because  it  will 
counteract  that  tendency  to  public  and  private 

114 


anDretP  S^ach^on 


profligacy  which  a  profuse  expenditure  of 
money  by  the  Government  is  but  too  apt  to 
engender.  Powerful  auxiharies  to  the  attain- 
ment of  this  desirable  end  are  to  be  found  in 
the  regulations  provided  by  the  wisdom  of 
Congress  for  the  specific  appropriation  of 
public  money  and  the  prompt  accountability 
of  public  officers. 

With  regard  to  a  proper  selection  of  the 
subjects  of  impost  with  a  view  to  revenue,  it 
would  seem  to  me  that  the  spirit  of  equity, 
caution,  and  compromise  in  which  the  Consti- 
tution was  formed  requires  that  the  great  inter- 
ests of  agriculture,  commerce,  and  manufac- 
tures should  be  equally  favored,  and  that 
perhaps  the  only  exception  to  this  rule  should 
consist  in  the  peculiar  encouragement  of  any 
products  of  either  of  them  that  may  be  found 
essential  to  our  national  independence. 

Internal  improvement  and  the  diffusion  of 
knowledge,  so  far  as  they  can  be  promoted  by 
the  constitutional  acts  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, are  of  high  importance. 

Considering  standing  armies  as  dangerous 
to  free  governments  in  time  of  peace,  I  shall 
not  seek  to  enlarge  our  present  establishment, 
nor  disregard  that  salutary  lesson  of  political 
experience  which  teaches  that  the  military 
should  be  held  subordinate  to  the  civil  power. 
The  gradual  increase  of  our  Navy,  whose  flag 
has  displayed  in  distant  climes  our  skill  in 
navigation  and  our  fame  in  arms;  the  preser- 

"5 


S^naugural  3Ltitire^^c^ 


vation  of  our  forts,  arsenals,  and  dockyards, 
and  the  introduction  of  progressive  improve- 
ments in  the  disciphne  and  science  of  both 
branches  of  our  military  service  are  so  plainly 
prescribed  by  prudence  that  I  should  be  ex- 
cused for  omitting  their  mention  sooner  than 
for  enlarging  on  their  importance.  But  the 
bulwark  of  our  defense  is  the  national  militia, 
which  in  the  present  state  of  our  intelligence 
and  population  must  render  us  invincible.  As 
long  as  our  Government  is  administered  for 
the  good  of  the  people,  and  is  regulated  by 
their  will;  as  long  as  it  secures  to  us  the  rights 
of  person  and  of  property,  liberty  of  con- 
science and  of  the  press,  it  will  be  worth 
defending;  and  so  long  as  it  is  worth  defending 
a  patriotic  militia  will  cover  it  with  an  im- 
penetrable aegis.  Partial  injuries  and  occa- 
sional mortifications  we  may  be  subjected  to, 
but  a  million  of  armed  freemen,  possessed  of 
the  means  of  war,  can  never  be  conquered  by 
a  foreign  foe.  To  any  just  system,  there- 
fore, calculated  to  strengthen  this  natural 
safeguard  of  the  country  I  shall  cheerfully 
lend  all  the  aid  in  my  power. 

It  will  be  my  sincere  and  constant  desire  to 
observe  toward  the  Indian  tribes  within  our 
limits  a  just  and  liberal  policy,  and  to  give 
that  humane  and  considerate  attention  to  their 
rights  and  their  wants  which  is  consistent  with 
the  habits  of  our  Government  and  the  feelings 
of  our  people. 

ii6 


aintiretD  3^acft^on 


The  recent  demonstration  of  public  senti- 
ment inscribes  on  the  list  of  Executive  duties, 
in  characters  too  legible  to  be  overlooked,  the 
task  of  reform,  which  will  require  particularly 
the  correction  of  those  abuses  that  have 
brought  the  patronage  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment into  conflict  with  the  freedom  of  elec- 
tions, and  the  counteraction  of  those  causes 
which  have  disturbed  the  rightful  course  of 
appointment  and  have  placed  or  continued 
power  in  unfaithful  or  incompetent  hands. 

In  the  performance  of  a  task  thus  generally 
delineated  I  shall  endeavor  to  select  men  whose 
diligence  and  talents  will  insure  in  their  re- 
spective stations  able  and  faithful  co-opera- 
tion, depending  for  the  advancement  of  the 
public  service  more  on  the  integrity  and  zeal 
of  the  public  officers  than  on  their  numbers. 

A  diffidence,  perhaps  too  just,  in  my  own 
qualifications  will  teach  me  to  look  with  rever- 
ence to  the  examples  of  public  virtue  left  by 
my  illustrious  predecessors,  and  with  venera- 
tion to  the  lights  that  flow  from  the  mind  that 
founded  and  the  mind  that  reformed  our  sys- 
tem. The  same  diffidence  induces  me  to  hope 
for  instruction  and  aid  from  the  co-ordinate 
branches  of  the  Government,  and  for  the  in- 
dulgence and  support  of  my  fellow-citizens 
generally.  And  a  firm  reliance  on  the  good- 
ness of  that  Power  whose  providence  merci- 
fully protected  our  national  infancy,  and  has 
since  upheld  our  liberties  in  various  vicissi- 

117 


^Fnaugucal  aDDre^s^i^e^ 


tudes,  encourages  me  to  offer  up  my  ardent 
supplications  that  He  will  continue  to  make 
our  beloved  country  the  object  of  His  divine 
care  and  gracious  benediction. 
March  4,  1829. 


118 


antireto  9Iac6)Son 

SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


FELLOW-CITIZENS:  The  will  of  the 
American  people,  expressed  through 
their  unsoHcited  suffrages,  calls  me 
before  you  to  pass  through  the  solemnities 
preparatory  to  taking  upon  myself  the  duties 
of  President  of  the  United  States  for  another 
term.  For  their  approbation  of  my  public 
conduct  through  a  period  which  has  not  been 
without  its  difficulties,  and  for  this  renewed 
expression  of  their  confidence  in  my  good  in- 
tentions, I  am  at  a  loss  for  terms  adequate  to 
the  expression  of  my  gratitude.  It  shall  be 
displayed  to  the  extent  of  my  humble  abilities 
in  continued  efforts  so  to  administer  the  Gov- 
ernment as  to  preserve  their  liberty  and  pro- 
mote their  happiness. 

So  many  events  have  occurred  within  the 
last  four  years  which  have  necessarily  called 
forth — sometimes  under  circumstances  the 
most  delicate  and  painful — my  views  of  the 
principles  and  policy  which  ought  to  be  pur- 
sued by  the  General  Government  that  I  need 
on  this  occasion  but  allude  to  a  few  leading 
considerations  connected  with  some  of  them. 

The  foreign  policy  adopted  by  our  Govern- 
ment soon  after  the  formation  of  our  present 

"9 


S^naugural  3lDDrejBfi8?e^ 


Constitution,  and  very  generally  pursued  by 
successive  Administrations,  has  been  crowned 
with  almost  complete  success,  and  has  ele- 
vated our  character  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  To  do  justice  to  all  and  to  submit  to 
wrong  from  none  has  been  during  my  Adminis- 
tration its  governing  maxim,  and  so  happy 
have  been  its  results  that  we  are  not  only  at 
peace  with  all  the  world,  but  have  few  causes 
of  controversy,  and  those  of  minor  impor- 
tance, remaining  unadjusted. 

In  the  domestic  policy  of  this  Government 
there  are  two  objects  which  especially  deserve 
the  attention  of  the  people  and  their  repre- 
sentatives, and  which  have  been  and  will 
continue  to  be  the  subjects  of  my  increasing 
solicitude.  They  are  the  preservation  of  the 
rights  of  the  several  States  and  the  integrity 
of  the  Union. 

These  great  objects  are  necessarily  con- 
nected, and  can  only  be  attained  by  an  enlight- 
ened exercise  of  the  powers  of  each  within  its 
appropriate  sphere  in  conformity  with  the 
public  will  constitutionally  expressed.  To  this 
end  it  becomes  the  duty  of  all  to  yield  a  ready 
and  patriotic  submission  to  the  laws  constitu- 
tionally enacted,  and  thereby  promote  and 
strengthen  a  proper  confidence  in  those  insti- 
tutions of  the  several  States  and  of  the  United 
States  which  the  people  themselves  have 
ordained  for  their  own  government. 

My  experience  in  public   concerns  and  the 

120 


anbretD  5Facft#on 


observation  of  a  life  somewhat  advanced  con- 
firm the  opinions  long  since  imbibed  by  me, 
that  the  destruction  of  our  State  governments 
or  the  annihilation  of  their  control  over  the 
local  concerns  of  the  people  would  lead  directly 
to  revolution  and  anarchy,  and  finally  to  des- 
potism and  military  domination.  In  propor- 
tion, therefore,  as  the  General  Government 
encroaches  upon  the  rights  of  the  States,  in 
the  same  proportion  does  it  impair  its  own 
power  and  detract  from  its  ability  to  fulfill  the 
purposes  of  its  creation.  Solemnly  impressed 
with  these  considerations,  my  countrymen  will 
ever  find  me  ready  to  exercise  my  constitu- 
tional powers  in  arresting  measures  which  may 
directly  or  indirectly  encroach  upon  the  rights 
of  the  States  or  tend  to  consolidate  all  politi- 
cal power  in  the  General  Government.  But 
of  equal,  and,  indeed,  of  incalculable,  impor- 
tance is  the  union  of  these  States,  and  the 
sacred  duty  of  all  to  contribute  to  its  preserva- 
tion by  a  liberal  support  of  the  General  Gov- 
ernment in  the  exercise  of  its  just  powers. 
You  have  been  wisely  admonished  to  "accus- 
tom yourselves  to  think  and  speak  of  the  Union 
as  of  the  palladium  of  your  political  safety  and 
prosperity,  watching  for  its  preservation  with 
jealous  anxiety,  discountenancing  whatever 
may  suggest  even  a  suspicion  that  it  can  in 
any  event  be  abandoned,  and  indignantly 
frowning  upon  the  first  dawning  of  any  attempt 
to  alienate  any  portion  of  our  country  from  the 

121 


inaugural  3lDtire^^e^ 


rest  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which  now 
Hnk  together  the  various  parts."  Without 
union  our  independence  and  Hberty  would 
never  have  been  achieved;  without  union  they 
never  can  be  maintained.  Divided  into 
twenty-four,  or  even  a  smaller  number,  of 
ceparate  communities,  we  shall  see  our  internal 
trade  burdened  with  numberless  restraints  and 
exactions;  communication  between  distant 
points  and  sections  obstructed  or  cut  off;  our 
sons  made  soldiers  to  deluge  with  blood  the 
fields  they  now  till  in  peace;  the  mass  of  our 
people  borne  down  and  impoverished  by  taxes 
to  support  armies  and  navies,  and  miHtary 
leaders  at  the  head  of  their  victorious  legions 
becoming  our  lawgivers  and  judges.  The  loss 
of  liberty,  of  all  good  government,  of  peace, 
plenty,  and  happiness  must  inevitably  follow 
a  dissolution  of  the  Union.  In  supporting  it, 
therefore,  we  support  all  that  is  dear  to  the 
freeman  and  the  philanthropist. 

The  time  at  which  I  stand  before  you  is  full 
of  interest.  ^The  eyes  of  all  nations  are  fixed 
on  our  Republic.  The  event  of  the  existing 
crisis  will  be  decisive  in  the  opinion  of  mankind 
of  the  practicability  of  our  federal  system  of 
government.  Great  is  the  stake  placed  in  our 
hands;  great  is  the  responsibility  which  must 
rest  upon  the  people  of  the  Unitec  States. 
Let  us  realize  the  importance  of  the  attitude 
in  which  we  stand  before  the  world.  Let  us 
exercise  forbearance  and  firmness.     Let  us  ex- 

122 


anDreto  ^atk^m 


tricate  our  country  from  the  dangers  which 
surround  it  and  learn  wisdom  from  the  lessons 
they  inculcate. 

Deeply  impressed  with  the  truth  of  these 
observations,  and  under  the  obligation  of  that 
solemn  oath  which  I  am  about  to  take,  I  shall 
continue  to  exert  all  my  faculties  to  maintain 
the  just  powers  of  the  Constitution  and  to 
transmit  unimpaired  to  posterity  the  blessings 
of  our  Federal  Union.  At  the  same  time,  it 
will  be  my  aim  to  inculcate  by  my  official  acts 
the  necessity  of  exercising  by  the  General 
Government  those  powers  only  that  are  clearly 
delegated;  to  encourage  simplicity  and  econ- 
omy in  the  expenditures  of  the  Government ; 
to  raise  no  more  money  from  the  people  than 
may  be  requisite  for  these  objects,  and  in  a 
manner  that  will  best  promote  the  interests  of 
all  classes  of  the  community  and  of  all  portions 
of  the  Union.  Constantly  bearing  in  mind 
that  in  entering  into  society  **  individuals  must 
give  up  a  share  of  liberty  to  preserve  the  rest," 
it  will  be  my  desire  so  to  discharge  my  duties 
as  to  foster  with  our  brethren  in  all  parts  of 
the  country  a  spirit  of  liberal  concession  and 
compromise,  and,  by  reconciling  our  fellow- 
citizens  to  those  partial  sacrifices  which  they 
must  unavoidably  make  for  the  preservation 
of  a  greater  good,  to  recommend  our  invalu- 
able Government  and  Union  to  the  confidence 
and  affections  of  the  American  people. 

Finally,  it  is  my  most  fervent  prayer  to  that 

123 


S^naugural  ^titire^^e^ 


Almighty  Being  before  whom  I  now  stand, 
and  who  has  kept  us  in  His  hands  from  the 
infancy  of  our  RepubHc  to  the  present  day, 
that  He  will  so  overrule  all  my  intentions  and 
actions  and  inspire  the  hearts  of  my  fellow- 
citizens  that  we  may  be  preserved  from  dangers 
of  all  kinds  and  continue  forever  a  united  and 
happy  people. 
March  4,  1833. 


124 


INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


FELLOW-CITIZENS:  The  practice  of 
all  my  predecessors  imposes  on  me 
an  obligation  I  cheerfully  fulfill — to 
accompany  the  first  and  solemn  act  of  my 
public  trust  with  an  avowal  of  the  principles 
that  will  guide  me  in  performing  it  and  an 
expression  of  my  feelings  on  assuming  a 
charge  so  responsible  and  vast.  In  imitat- 
ing their  example  I  tread  in  the  footsteps 
of  illustrious  men,  whose  superiors  it  is  our 
happiness  to  beheve  are  not  found  on  the 
executive  calendar  of  any  country.  Among 
them  we  recognize  the  earliest  and  firmest 
pillars  of  the  Republic — those  by  whom  our 
national  independence  was  first  declared,  him 
who  above  all  others  contributed  to  establish 
it  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  those  whose  ex- 
panded intellect  and  patriotism  constructed, 
improved,  and  perfected  the  inestimable  insti- 
tutions under  which  we  live.  If  such  men  in 
the  position  I  now  occupy  felt  themselves  over- 
whelmed by  a  sense  of  gratitude  for  this  the 
highest  of  all  marks  of  their  country's  confi- 
dence, and  by  a  consciousness  of  their  inability 
adequately  to  discharge  the  duties  of  an  office 
so  difficult  and  exalted,  how  much  more  must 

125 


2FuaugutaI  attitireiSf^e^ 


these  considerations  affect  one  who  can  rely 
on  no  such  claims  for  favor  or  forbearance! 
Unlike  all  who  have  preceded  me,  the  Revolu- 
tion that  gave  us  existence  as  one  people  was 
achieved  at  the  period  of  my  birth ;  and  whilst 
I  contemplate  with  grateful  reverence  that 
memorable  event,  I  feel  that  I  belong  to  a 
later  age  and  that  I  may  not  expect  my  coun- 
trymen to  weigh  my  actions  with  the  same 
kind  and  partial  hand. 

So  sensibly,  fellow-citizens,  do  these  cir- 
cumstances press  themselves  upon  me  that  I 
should  not  dare  to  enter  upon  my  path  of  duty 
did  I  not  look  for  the  generous  aid  of  those 
who  will  be  associated  with  me  in  the  various 
and  co-ordinate  branches  of  the  Government; 
did  I  not  repose  with  unwavering  rehance  on 
the  patriotism,  the  intelligence,  and  the  kind- 
ness of  a  people  who  never  yet  deserted  a 
public  servant  honestly  laboring  in  their  cause; 
and,  above  all,  did  I  not  permit  myself  humbly 
to  hope  for  the  sustaining  support  of  an  ever- 
watchful  and  beneficent  Providence. 

To  the  confidence  and  consolation  derived 
from  these  sources  it  would  be  ungrateful  not 
to  add  those  which  spring  from  our  present 
fortunate  condition.  Though  not  altogether 
exempt  from  embarrassments  that  disturb  our 
tranquillity  at  home  and  threaten  it  abroad,  yet 
in  all  the  attributes  of  a  great,  happy,  and 
flourishing  people  we  stand  without  a  parallel 
in  the  world.     Abroad  we  enjoy  the  respect 

126 


^attin  Van  ^nttn 


and,  with  scarcely  an  exception  the  friendship, 
of  every  nation;  at  home,  while  our  Govern- 
ment quietly  but  efficiently  performs  the  sole 
legitimate  end  of  political  institutions — in 
doing  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  num- 
ber— we  present  an  aggregate  of  human  pros- 
perity surely  not  elsewhere  to  be  found. 

How  imperious,  then,  is  the  obhgation  im- 
posed upon  every  citizen,  in  his  own  sphere  of 
action,  whether  limited  or  extended,  to  exert 
himself  in  perpetuating  a  condition  of  things 
so  singularly  happy!  All  the  lessons  of  his- 
tory and  experience  must  be  lost  upon  us  if  we 
are  content  to  trust  alone  to  the  peculiar 
advantages  we  happen  to  possess.  Position 
and  chmate  and  the  bounteous  resources  that 
nature  has  scattered  with  so  liberal  a  hand — 
even  the  diffused  intelligence  and  elevated 
character  of  our  people — will  avail  us  nothing 
if  we  fail  sacredly  to  uphold  those  political 
institutions  that  were  wisely  and  deliberately 
formed  with  reference  to  every  circumstance 
that  could  preserve  or  might  endanger  the 
blessings  we  enjoy.  The  thoughtful  framers 
of  our  Constitution  legislated  for  our  country 
as  they  found  it.  Looking  upon  it  with  the 
eyes  of  statesmen  and  patriots,  they  saw  all 
the  sources  of  rapid  and  wonderful  prosperity; 
but  they  saw  also  that  various  habits,  opinions, 
and  institutions  peculiar  to  the  various  por- 
tions of  so  vast  a  region  v/ere  deeply  fixed. 
Distinct  sovereignties  were  in  actual  existence, 

127 


S^naugural  ^txl^ttg^e^ 


whose  cordial  union  was  essential  to  the  wel- 
fare and  happiness  of  all.  Between  many  of 
them  there  was,  at  least  to  some  extent,  a  real 
diversity  of  interests,  liable  to  be  exaggerated 
through  sinister  designs;  they  differed  in  size, 
in  population,  in  wealth,  and  in  actual  and 
prospective  resources  and  power;  they  varied 
in  the  character  of  their  industiy  and  staple 
productions,  and  [in  some]  existed  domestic 
institutions  which,  unwisely  disturbed,  might 
endanger  the  harmony  of  the  whole.  Most 
carefully  were  all  these  circumstances  weighed, 
and  the  foundations  of  the  new  Government 
laid  upon  principles  of  reciprocal  concession 
and  equitable  compromise.  The  jealousies 
which  the  smaller  States  might  entertain  of  the 
power  of  the  rest  were  allayed  by  a  rule  of 
representation  confessedly  unequal  at  the  time, 
and  designed  forever  to  remain  so.  A  natural 
fear  that  the  broad  scope  of  general  legislation 
might  bear  upon  and  unwisely  control  particu- 
lar interests  was  counteracted  by  limits  strictly 
drawn  around  the  action  of  the  Federal  author- 
ity, and  to  the  people  and  the  States  was  left 
unimpaired  their  sovereign  power  over  the 
innumerable  subjects  embraced  in  the  internal 
government  of  a  just  republic,  excepting  such 
only  as  necessarily  appertain  to  the  concerns 
of  the  whole  confederacy  or  its  intercourse  as 
a  united  community  with  the  other  nations  of 
the  world. 

This   provident  forecast  has  been  verified 

128 


a^artin  15an  25uren 


by  time.  Half  a  century,  teeming  with  ex- 
traordinary events,  and  elsewhere  producing 
astonishing  results,  has  passed  along,  but  on 
our  institutions  it  has  left  no  injurious  mark. 
From  a  small  community  we  have  risen  to  a 
people  powerful  in  numbers  and  in  strength; 
but  with  our  increase  has  gone  hand  in  hand 
the  progress  of  just  principles.  The  privi- 
leges, civil  and  religious,  of  the  humblest  indi- 
vidual are  still  sacredly  protected  at  home,  and 
while  the  valor  and  fortitude  of  our  people 
have  removed  far  from  us  the  slightest  appre- 
hension of  foreign  power,  they  have  not  yet 
induced  us  in  a  single  instance  to  forget  what 
is  right.  Our  commerce  has  been  extended 
to  the  remotest  nations;  the  value  and  even 
nature  of  our  productions  have  been  greatly 
changed;  a  wide  difference  has  arisen  in  the 
relative  wealth  and  resources  of  every  portion 
of  our  country;  yet  the  spirit  of  mutual  regard 
and  of  faithful  adherence  to  existing  compacts 
has  continued  to  prevail  in  our  councils  and 
never  long  been  absent  from  our  conduct. 
We  have  learned  by  experience  a  fruitful 
lesson — that  an  implicit  and  undeviating  ad- 
herence to  the  principles  on  which  we  set  out 
can  carry  us  prosperously  onward  through  all 
the  conflicts  of  circumstances  and  vicissitudes 
inseparable  from  the  lapse  of  years. 

The  success  that  has  thus  attended  our  great 
experiment  is  in  itself  a  sufficient  cause  for 
gratitude,  on  account  of  the  happiness  it  has 

129 


^Fnaugural  ^hhtt^^t^ 


actually  conferred  and  the  example  it  has  un- 
answerably given.  But  to  me,  my  fellow-citi- 
zens, looking  forward  to  the  far-distant  future 
with  ardent  prayers  and  confiding  hopes,  this 
retrospect  presents  a  ground  for  still  deeper 
delight.  It  impresses  on  my  mind  a  firm 
belief  that  the  perpetuity  of  our  institutions 
depends  upon  ourselves;  that  if  we  maintain 
the  principles  on  which  they  were  established 
they  are  destined  to  confer  their  benefits  on 
countless  generations  yet  to  come,  and  that 
America  will  present  to  every  friend  of  man- 
kind the  cheering  proof  that  a  popular  govern- 
ment, wisely  formed,  is  wanting  in  no  element 
of  endurance  or  strength.  Fifty  years  ago  its 
rapid  failure  was  boldly  predicted.  Latent 
and  uncontrollable  causes  of  dissolution  were 
supposed  to  exist  even  by  the  wise  and  good, 
and  not  only  did  unfriendly  or  speculative 
theorists  anticipate  for  us  the  fate  of  past 
republics,  but  the  fears  of  many  an  honest 
patriot  overbalanced  his  sanguine  hopes. 
Look  back  on  these  forebodings,  not  hastily 
but  reluctantly  made,  and  see  how  in  every 
instance  they  have  completely  failed. 

An  imperfect  experience  during  the  strug- 
gles of  the  Revolution  was  supposed  to  warrant 
the  belief  that  the  people  would  not  bear  the 
taxation  requisite  to  discharge  an  immense 
public  debt  already  incurred  and  to  pay  the 
necessary  expenses  of  the  Government.  The 
cost  of  two  wars  has  been  paid,  not  only  with- 

130 


a^artin  Ban  25uren 


out  a  murmur,  but  with  unequaled  alacrity. 
No  one  is  now  left  to  doubt  that  every  burden 
will  be  cheerfully  borne  that  may  be  necessary 
to  sustain  our  civil  institutions  or  guard  our 
honor  or  welfare.  Indeed,  all  experience  has 
shown  that  the  willingness  of  the  people  to 
contribute  to  these  ends  in  cases  of  emergency 
has  uniformly  outrun  the  confidence  of  their 
representatives. 

In  the  early  stages  of  the  new  Government, 
when  all  felt  the  imposing  influence  as  they 
recognized  the  unequaled  services  of  the  first 
President,  it  was  a  common  sentiment  that  the 
great  weight  of  his  character  could  alone  bind 
the  discordant  materials  of  our  Government 
together  and  save  us  from  the  violence  of  con- 
tending factions.  Since  his  death  nearly  forty 
years  are  gone.  Party  exasperation  has  been 
often  carried  to  its  highest  point;  the  virtue 
and  fortitude  of  the  people  have  sometimes 
been  greatly  tried;  yet  our  system,  purified 
and  enhanced  in  value  by  all  it  has  encoun- 
tered, still  preserves  its  spirit  of  free  and  fear- 
less discussion,  blended  with  unimpaired 
fraternal  feeling. 

The  capacity  of  the  people  for  self-govern- 
ment, and  their  willingness,  from  a  high  sense 
of  duty  and  without  those  exhibitions  of  coer- 
cive power  so  generally  employed  in  other 
countries,  to  submit  to  all  needful  restraints 
and  exactions  of  municipal  law,  have  also  been 
favorably  exemplified   in   the    history  of   the 

131 


S^naugural  ^hhxt^^t^ 


American  States.  Occasionally,  it  is  true, 
the  ardor  of  public  sentiment,  outrunning  the 
regular  progress  of  the  judicial  tribunals,  or 
seeking  to  reach  cases  not  denounced  as  crimi- 
nal by  the  existing  law,  has  displayed  itself  in 
a  manner  calculated  to  give  pain  to  the  friends 
of  free  government  and  to  encourage  the  hopes 
of  those  who  wish  for  its  overthrow.  These 
occurrences,  however,  have  been  far  less  fre- 
quent in  our  country  than  in  any  other  of  equal 
population  on  the  globe,  and  with  the  diffusion 
of  intelligence  it  may  well  be  hoped  that  they 
will  constantly  diminish  in  frequency  and  vio- 
lence. The  generous  patriotism  and  sound 
common  sense  of  the  great  mass  of  our  fellow- 
citizens  will  assuredly  in  time  produce  this 
result;  for  as  every  assumption  of  illegal  power 
not  only  wounds  the  majesty  of  the  law,  but 
furnishes  a  pretext  for  abridging  the  liberties 
of  the  people,  the  latter  have  the  most  direct 
and  permanent  interest  in  preserving  the  land- 
marks of  social  order  and  maintaining  on  all 
occasions  the  inviolability  of  those  constitu- 
tional and  legal  provisions  which  they  them- 
selves have  made. 

In  a  supposed  unfitness  of  our  institutions 
for  those  hostile  emergencies  which  no  coun- 
try can  always  avoid  their  friends  found  a 
fruitful  source  of  apprehension,  their  enemies 
of  hope.  While  they  foresaw  less  promptness 
of  action  than  in  governments  differently 
formed,  they  overlooked  the  far  more  impor- 

132 


^attin  Ban  25urcn 


tant  consideration  that  with  us  war  could 
never  be  the  result  of  individual  or  irrespon- 
sible will,  but  must  be  a  measure  of  redress 
for  injuries  sustained,  voluntarily  resorted  to 
by  those  who  were  to  bear  the  necessary  sacri- 
fice, who  would  consequently  feel  an  individual 
interest  in  the  contest,  and  whose  energy 
would  be  commensurate  with  the  difficulties  to 
be  encountered.  Actual  events  have  proved 
their  error;  the  last  war,  far  from  impairing, 
gave  new  confidence  to  our  Government,  and 
amid  recent  apprehensions  of  a  similar  conflict 
we  saw  that  the  energies  of  our  country  would 
not  be  wanting  in  ample  season  to  vindicate 
its  rights.  We  may  not  possess,  as  we  should 
not  desire  to  possess,  the  extended  and  ever- 
ready  mihtary  organization  of  other  nations; 
we  may  occasionally  suffer  in  the  outset  for 
the  want  of  it;  but  among  ourselves  all  doubt 
upon  this  great  point  has  ceased,  while  a  salu- 
tary experience  will  prevent  a  contrary  opinion 
from  inviting  aggression  from  abroad. 

Certain  danger  was  foretold  from  the  exten- 
sion of  our  territory,  the  multiplication  of 
States,  and  the  increase  of  population.  Our 
system  was  supposed  to  be  adapted  only  to 
boundaries  comparatively  narrow.  These 
have  been  widened  beyond  conjecture;  the 
members  of  our  Confederacy  are  already 
doubled,  and  the  numbers  of  our  people  are 
incredibly  augmented.  The  alleged  causes  of 
danger  have  long  surpassed  anticipation,  but 

133 


3rnau5ural  ^.DDre^i^e^ 


none  of  the  consequences  have  followed.  The 
power  and  influence  of  the  Republic  have  risen 
to  a  height  obvious  to  all  mankind;  respect  for 
its  authority  v/as  not  more  apparent  at  its 
ancient  than  it  is  at  its  present  limits;  new 
and  inexhaustible  sources  of  general  prosper- 
ity have  been  opened;  the  effects  of  distance 
have  been  averted  by  the  inventive  genius  of 
our  people,  developed  and  fostered  by  the 
spirit  of  our  institutions;  and  the  enlarged 
variety  and  amount  of  interests,  productions, 
and  pursuits  have  strengthened  the  chain  of 
mutual  dependence  and  formed  a  circle  of 
mutual  benefits  too  apparent  ever  to  be  over- 
looked. 

In  justly  balancing  the  powers  of  the  Federal 
and  State  authorities  difficulties  nearly  insur- 
mountable arose  at  the  outset,  and  subsequent 
collisions  were  deemed  inevitable.  Amid  these 
it  v/as  scarcely  believed  possible  that  a  scheme 
of  government  so  complex  in  construction 
could  remain  uninjured.  From  tiine  to  time 
embarrassments  have  certainly  occurred;  but 
how  just  is  the  confidence  of  future  safety 
imparted  by  the  knowledge  that  each  in  suc- 
cession has  been  happily  removed!  Overlook- 
ing partial  and  temporary  evils  as  inseparable 
from  the  practical  operation  of  all  human  insti- 
tutions, and  looking  only  to  the  general  result, 
every  patriot  has  reason  to  be  satisfied.  While 
the  Federal  Government  has  successfully  per- 
formed its  appropriate  functions  in  relation  to 

134 


Sl^artin  ©an  25uren 


foreign  affairs  and  concerns  evidently  national, 
that  of  every  State  has  remarkably  improved 
in  protecting  and  developing  local  interests  and 
individual  welfare;  and  if  the  vibrations  of 
authority  have  occasionally  tended  too  much 
toward  one  or  the  other,  it  is  unquestionably 
certain  that  the  ultimate  operation  of  the  entire 
system  has  been  to  strengthen  all  the  existing 
institutions  and  to  elevate  our  whole  country 
in  prosperity  and  renown. 

The  last,  perhaps  the  greatest,  of  the  promi- 
nent sources  of  discord  and  disaster  supposed 
to  lurk  in  our  political  condition  was  the  insti- 
tution of  domestic  slavery.  Our  forefathers 
were  deeply  impressed  with  the  delicacy  of 
this  subject,  and  they  treated  it  with  a  for- 
bearance so  evidently  wise  that  in  spite  of 
every  sinister  foreboding  it  never  until  the 
present  period  disturbed  the  tranquillity  of  our 
common  country.  Such  a  result  is  sufficient 
evidence  of  the  justice  and  the  patriotism  of 
their  course;  it  is  evidence  not  to  be  mistaken 
than  an  adherence  to  it  can  prevent  all  embar- 
rassment from  this  as  well  as  from  every  other 
anticipated  cause  of  difficulty  or  danger. 
Have  not  recent  events  made  it  obvious  to  the 
slightest  reflection  that  the  least  deviation  from 
this  spirit  of  forbearance  is  injurious  to  every 
interest,  that  of  humanity  included?  Amidst 
the  violence  of  excited  passions  this  generous 
and  fraternal  feeling  has  been  sometimes  dis- 
regarded; and  standing  as  I  now  do  before  my 

135 


S'naugural  atibre^^e^ 


countrymen,  in  this  high  place  of  honor  and 
of  trust,  I  cannot  refrain  from  anxiously  in- 
voking my  fellow-citizens  never  to  be  deaf  to 
its  dictates.  Perceiving  before  my  election 
the  deep  interest  this  subject  was  beginning 
to  excite,  I  believed  it  a  solemn  duty  fully  to 
make  known  my  sentiments  in  regard  to  it, 
and  now,  when  every  motive  for  misrepresen- 
tation has  passed  away,  I  trust  that  they  will 
be  candidly  weighed  and  understood.  At 
least  they  will  be  my  standard  of  conduct  in 
the  path  before  me.  I  then  declared  that  if 
the  desire  of  those  of  my  countrymen  who 
were  favorable  to  my  election  was  gratified  "I 
must  go  into  the  Presidential  chair  the  inflex- 
ible and  uncompromising  opponent  of  every 
attempt  on  the  part  of  Congress  to  abolish 
slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  against  the 
wishes  of  the  slaveholding  States,  and  also 
with  a  determination  equally  decided  to  resist 
the  slightest  interference  with  it  in  the  States 
where  it  exists."  I  submitted  also  to  my 
fellow-citizens,  with  fullness  and  frankness, 
the  reasons  which  led  me  to  this  determina- 
tion. The  result  authorizes  me  to  believe  that 
they  have  been  approved  and  are  confided  in 
by  a  majority  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  including  those  whom  they  most  im- 
mediately affect.  It  now  only  remains  to  add 
that  no  bill  conflicting  with  these  views  can 
ever  receive  my  constitutional  sanction.  These 
opinions  have  been  adopted  in  the  firm  belief 

136 


St^a^^tin  Ban  25urett 


that  they  are  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  that 
actuated  the  venerated  fathers  of  the  Repubhc, 
and  that  succeeding  experience  has  proved 
them  to  be  humane,  patriotic,  expedient,  hon- 
orable, and  just.  If  the  agitation  of  this  sub- 
ject was  intended  to  reach  the  stabihty  of  our 
institutions,  enough  has  occurred  to  show  that 
it  has  signally  failed,  and  that  in  this  as  in 
every  other  instance  the  apprehensions  of  the 
timid  and  the  hopes  of  the  wicked  for  the 
destruction  of  our  Government  are  again  des- 
tined to  be  disappointed.  Here  and  there, 
indeed,  scenes  of  dangerous  excitement  have 
occurred,  terrifying  instances  of  local  violence 
have  been  witnessed,  and  a  reckless  disregard 
of  the  consequences  of  their  conduct  has  ex- 
posed individuals  to  popular  indignation;  but 
neither  masses  of  the  people  nor  sections  of 
the  country  have  been  swerved  from  their 
devotion  to  the  bond  of  union  and  the  prin- 
ciples it  has  made  sacred.  It  will  be  ever 
thus.  Such  attempts  at  dangerous  agitation 
may  periodically  return,  but  with  each  the 
object  will  be  better  understood.  That  pre- 
dominating affection  for  our  political  system 
which  prevails  throughout  our  territorial  limits, 
that  calm  and  enlightened  judgment  which 
ultimately  governs  our  people  as  one  vast 
body,  will  always  be  at  hand  to  resist  and 
control  every  effort,  foreign  or  domestic, 
which  aims  or  would  lead  to  overthrow  our 
institutions. 

137 


inaugural  atiDte^^e^e^ 


What  can  be  more  gratifying  than  such  a 
retrospect  as  this?  We  look  back  on  obstacles 
avoided  and  dangers  overcome,  on  expecta- 
tions more  than  realized  and  prosperity  per- 
fectly secured.  To  the  hopes  of  the  hostile, 
the  fears  of  the  timid,  and  the  doubts  of  the 
anxious  actual  experience  has  given  the  con- 
clusive reply.  We  have  seen  time  gradually 
dispel  every  unfavorable  foreboding  and  our 
Constitution  surmount  every  adverse  circum- 
stance dreaded  at  the  outset  as  beyond  control. 
Present  excitement  will  at  all  times  magnify 
present  dangers,  but  true  philosophy  must 
teach  us  that  none  more  threatening  than  the 
past  can  remain  to  be  overcome;  and  we 
ought  (for  we  have  just  reason)  to  entertain 
an  abiding  confidence  in  the  stability  of  our 
institutions  and  an  entire  conviction  that  if 
administered  in  the  true  form,  character,  and 
spirit  in  which  they  were  established  they  are 
abundantly  adequate  to  preserve  to  us  and  our 
children  the  rich  blessings  already  derived 
from  them,  to  make  our  beloved  land  for  a 
thousand  generations  that  chosen  spot  where 
happiness  springs  from  a  perfect  equality  of 
poHtical  rights. 

For  myself,  therefore,  I  desire  to  declare 
that  the  principle  that  will  govern  me  in  the 
high  duty  to  which  my  country  calls  me  is  a 
strict  adherence  to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the 
Constitution  as  it  was  designed  by  those  who 
framed  it.     Looking  back  to  it  as  a  sacred 

138 


^a^artin  Ban  25uren 


instrument  carefully  and  not  easily  framed; 
remembering  that  it  was  throughout  a  work  of 
concession  and  compromise;  viewing  it  as 
limited  to  national  objects;  regarding  it  as 
leaving  to  the  people  and  the  States  all  power 
not  explicitly  parted  with,  I  shall  endeavor  to 
preserve,  protect,  and  defend  it  by  anxiously 
referring  to  its  provision  for  direction  in  every 
action.  To  matters  of  domestic  concernment 
which  it  has  intrusted  to  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment and  to  such  as  relate  to  our  intercourse 
with  foreign  nations  I  shall  zealously  devote 
myself;  beyond  those  limits  I  shall  never  pass. 

To  enter  on  this  occasion  into  a  further  or 
more  minute  exposition  of  my  views  on  the 
various  questions  of  domestic  policy  would  be 
as  obtrusive  as  it  is  probably  unexpected. 
Before  the  suffrages  of  my  countrymen  were 
conferred  upon  me  I  submitted  to  them,  with 
great  precision,  my  opinions  on  all  the  most 
prominent  of  these  subjects.  Those  opinions 
I  shall  endeavor  to  carry  out  with  my  utmost 
ability. 

Our  course  of  foreign  policy  has  been  so 
uniform  and  intelligible  as  to  constitute  a  rule 
of  Executive  conduct  which  leaves  little  to  my 
discretion,  unless,  indeed,  I  were  willing  to 
run  counter  to  the  lights  of  experience  and 
the  known  opinions  of  my  constituents.  We 
sedulously  cultivate  the  friendship  of  all  nations 
as  the  condition  most  compatible  with  our 
welfare  and  the  principles  of  our  Government. 

139 


S^naugural  3lDDre^i^e^ 


We  decline  alliances  as  adverse  to  our  peace. 
We  desire  commercial  relations  on  equal 
terms,  being  ever  willing  to  give  a  fair  equiva- 
lent for  advantages  received.  We  endeavor 
to  conduct  our  intercourse  with  openness  and 
sincerity,  promptly  avowing  our  objects  and 
seeking  to  establish  that  mutual  frankness 
which  is  as  beneficial  in  the  dealings  of  nations 
as  of  men.  We  have  no  disposition  and  we 
disclaim  all  right  to  meddle  in  disputes, 
whether  internal  or  foreign,  that  may  molest 
other  countries,  regarding  them  in  their  actual 
state  as  social  communities,  and  preserving  a 
strict  neutrality  in  all  their  controversies. 
Well  knowing  the  tried  valor  of  our  people 
and  our  exhaustless  resources,  we  neither 
anticipate  nor  fear  any  designed  aggression; 
and  in  the  consciousness  of  our  own  just  con- 
duct we  feel  a  security  that  we  shall  never  be 
called  upon  to  exert  our  determination  never 
to  permit  an  invasion  of  our  rights  without 
punishment  or  redress. 

In  approaching,  then,  in  the  presence  of  my 
assembled  countrymen,  to  make  the  solemn 
promise  that  yet  remains,  and  to  pledge  myself 
that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the  office  I  am 
about  to  fill,  I  bring  with  me  a  settled  purpose 
to  maintain  the  institutions  of  my  country, 
which  I  trust  will  atone  for  the  errors  I  commit. 

In  receiving  from  the  people  the  sacred 
trust  twice  confided  to  my  illustrious  prede- 
cessor, and  which  he  has  discharged  so  faith- 

140 


^attin  l^an  25uten 


fully  and  so  well,  I  know  that  I  cannot  expect 
to  perform  the  arduous  task  with  equal  ability 
and  success.  But  united  as  I  have  been  in  his 
counsels,  a  daily  witness  of  his  exclusive  and 
unsurpassed  devotion  to  his  country's  welfare, 
agreeing  with  him  in  sentiments  which  his 
countrymen  have  warmly  supported,  and  per- 
mitted to  partake  largely  of  his  confidence,  I 
may  hope  that  somewhat  of  the  same  cheering 
approbation  will  be  found  to  attend  upon  my 
path.  For  him  I  but  express  with  my  own  the 
wishes  of  all,  that  he  may  yet  long  live  to 
enjoy  the  brilHant  evening  of  his  well-spent 
life;  and  for  myself,  conscious  of  but  one 
desire,  faithfully  to  serve  my  country,  I  throw 
myself  without  fear  on  its  justice  and  its  kind- 
ness. Beyond  that  I  only  look  to  the  gracious 
protection  of  the  Divine  Being  whose  strength- 
ening support  I  humbly  solicit,  and  whom  I 
fervently  pray  to  look  down  upon  us  all.  May 
it  be  among  the  dispensations  of  His  provi- 
dence to  bless  our  beloved  country  with  hon- 
ors and  with  length  of  days.  May  her  ways 
be  ways  of  pleasantness  and  all  her  paths  be 
peace! 

March  4,  1837. 


141 


INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


CALLED  from  a  retirement  which  I  had 
supposed  was  to  continue  for  the  resi- 
due of  my  Hfe  to  fill  the  chief  executive 
office  of  this  great  and  free  nation,  I  appear 
before  you,  fellow-citizens,  to  take  the  oaths 
which  the  Constitution  prescribes  as  a  neces- 
sary qualification  for  the  performance  of  its 
duties;  and  in  obedience  to  a  custom  coeval 
with  our  Government  and  what  I  believe  to  be 
your  expectations  I  proceed  to  present  to  you 
a  summary  of  the  principles  which  will  govern 
me  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  which  I  shall 
be  called  upon  to  perform. 

It  was  the  remark  of  a  Roman  consul  in  an 
early  period  of  that  celebrated  Republic  that 
a  most  striking  contrast  was  observable  in  the 
conduct  of  candidates  for  offices  of  power  and 
trust  before  and  after  obtaining  them,  they 
seldom  carrying  out  in  the  latter  case  the 
pledges  and  promises  made  in  the  former. 
However  much  the  world  may  have  improved 
in  many  respects  in  the  lapse  of  upward  of 
two  thousand  years  since  the  remark  was  made 
by  the  virtuous  and  indignant  Roman,  I  fear 
that  a  strict  examination  of  the  annals  of  some 
of   the   modern   elective   governments   would 

143 


S^naugural  aDDre^^e^^ 


develop    similar    instances    of    violated  confi- 
dence. 

Although  the  fiat  of  the  people  has  gone 
forth  proclaiming  me  the  Chief  Magistrate  of 
this  glorious  Union,  nothing  upon  their  part 
remaining  to  be  done,  it  may  be  thought  that 
a  motive  may  exist  to  keep  up  the  delusion 
under  which  they  may  be  supposed  to  have 
acted  in  relation  to  my  principles  and  opin- 
ions; and  perhaps  there  may  be  some  in  this 
assembly  who  have  come  here  either  prepared 
to  condemn  those  I  shall  now  deliver,  or,  ap- 
proving them,  to  doubt  the  sincerity  with 
which  they  are  now  uttered.  But  the  lapse 
of  a  few  months  will  confirm  or  dispel  their 
fears.  The  outline  of  principles  to  govern 
and  measures  to  be  adopted  by  an  Administra- 
tion not  yet  begun  will  soon  be  exchanged  for 
immutable  history,  and  I  shall  stand  either 
exonerated  by  my  countrymen  or  classed  with 
the  mass  of  those  who  promised  that  they 
might  deceive  and  flattered  with  the  intention 
to  betray.  However  strong  may  be  my  pres- 
ent purpose  to  realize  the  expectations  of  a 
magnanimous  and  confiding  people,  I  too  well 
understand  the  dangerous  temptations  to  which 
I  shall  be  exposed  from  the  magnitude  of  the 
power  which  it  has  been  the  pleasure  of  the 
people  to  commit  to  my  hands  not  to  place  my 
chief  confidence  upon  the  aid  of  that  Almighty 
Power  which  has  hitherto  protected  me  and 
enabled  me  to  bring  to  favorable  issues  other 

144 


important    but    still    greatly    inferior    trusts 
heretofore  confided  to  me  by  my  country. 

The  broad  foundation  upon  which  our  Con- 
stitution rests  being  the  people — a  breath  of 
theirs  having  made,  as  a  breath  can  unmake, 
change,  or  modify  it — it  can  be  assigned  to 
none  of  the  great  divisions  of  government  but 
to  that  of  democracy.  If  such  is  its  theory, 
those  who  are  called  upon  to  administer  it 
must  recognize  as  its  leading  principle  the  duty 
of  shaping  their  measures  so  as  to  produce  the 
greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number.  But 
with  these  broad  admissions,  if  we  would  com- 
pare the  sovereignty  acknowledged  to  exist  in 
the  mass  of  our  people  with  the  power  claimed 
by  other  sovereignties,  even  by  those  which 
have  been  considered  most  purely  democratic, 
we  shall  find  a  most  essential  difference.  All 
others  lay  claim  to  power  limited  only  by  their 
own  will.  The  majority  of  our  citizens,  on 
the  contrary,  possess  a  sovereignty  with  an 
amount  of  power  precisely  equal  to  that  which 
has  been  granted  to  them  by  the  parties  to  the 
national  compact,  and  nothing  beyond.  We 
admit  of  no  government  by  divine  right, 
believing  that  so  far  as  power  is  concerned  the 
Beneficent  Creator  has  made  no  distinction 
amongst  men;  that  all  are  upon  an  equality, 
and  that  the  only  legitimate  right  to  govern  is 
an  express  grant  of  power  from  the  governed. 
The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  the 
instrument  containing  this  grant  of  power  to 

145 


S^naugural  aititire^^e0 


the  several  departments  composing  the  Gov- 
ernment. On  an  examination  of  that  instru- 
ment it  will  be  found  to  contain  declarations 
of  power  granted  and  of  power  withheld.  The 
latter  is  also  susceptible  of  division  into  power 
which  the  majority  had  the  right  to  grant,  but 
which  they  did  not  think  proper  to  intrust  to 
their  agents,  and  that  which  they  could  not 
have  granted,  not  being  possessed  by  them- 
selves. In  other  words,  there  are  certain 
rights  possessed  by  each  individual  American 
citizen  which  in  his  compact  with  the  others 
he  has  never  surrendered.  Some  of  them, 
indeed,  he  is  unable  to  surrender,  being,  in  the 
language  of  our  system,  unalienable.  The 
boasted  privilege  of  a  Roman  citizen  was  to 
him  a  shield  only  against  a  petty  provincial 
ruler,  whilst  the  proud  democrat  of  Athens 
would  console  himself,  under  a  sentence  of 
death,  for  a  supposed  violation  of  the  national 
faith — which  no  one  understood  and  which  at 
times  was  the  subject  of  the  mockery  of  all — 
or  the  banishment  from  his  home,  his  family, 
and  his  country,  with  or  without  an  alleged 
cause,  that  it  was  the  act  not  of  a  single  tyrant 
or  hated  aristocracy,  but  of  his  assembled 
countrymen.  Far  different  is  the  power  of 
our  sovereignty.  It  can  interfere  with  no 
one's  faith,  prescribe  forms  of  worship  for  no 
one's  observance,  inflict  no  punishment  but 
after  well-ascertained  guilt,  the  result  of  in- 
vestigation under  rules  prescribed  by  the  Con- 

146 


stitution  itself.  These  precious  privileges, 
and  those  scarcely  less  important  of  giving 
expression  to  his  thoughts  and  opinions,  either 
by  writing  or  speaking,  unrestrained  but  by 
the  liability  for  injury  to  others,  and  that  of  a 
full  participation  in  all  the  advantages  which 
flow  from  the  Government,  the  acknowledged 
property  of  all,  the  American  citizen  derives 
from  no  charter  granted  by  his  fellow-man. 
He  claims  them  because  he  is  himself  a  man, 
fashioned  by  the  same  Almighty  hand  as  the 
rest  of  his  species  and  entitled  to  a  full  share 
of  the  blessings  with  which  He  has  endowed 
them.  Notwithstanding  the  limited  sovereignty 
possessed  by  the  people  of  the  United  States 
and  the  restricted  grant  of  power  to  the  Gov- 
ernment which  they  have  adopted,  enough 
has  been  given  to  accomplish  all  the  objects 
for  which  it  was  created.  It  has  been  found 
powerful  in  war,  and  hitherto  justice  has  been 
administered,  an  intimate  union  effected,  do- 
mestic tranquillity  preserved,  and  personal 
liberty  secured  to  the  citizen.  As  was  to  be 
expected,  however,  from  the  defect  of  lan- 
guage and  the  necessarily  sententious  manner 
in  which  the  Constitution  is  written,  disputes 
have  arisen  as  to  the  amount  of  power  which 
it  has  actually  granted  or  was  intended  to 
grant. 

This  is  more  particularly  the  case  in  relation 
to  that  part  of  the  instrument  which  treats  of 
the  legislative  branch,  and  not  only  as  regards 

147 


g^naugural  ^l^lMt^^t^ 


the  exercise  of  powers  claimed  under  a  general 
clause  giving  that  body  the  authority  to  pass 
all  laws  necessary  to  carry  into  effect  specified 
powers,  but  in  relation  to  the  latter  also.  It 
is,  however,  consolatory  to  reflect  that  fnost  of 
the  instances  of  alleged  departure  from  the 
letter  or  spirit  of  the  Constitution  have  ulti- 
mately received  the  sanction  of  a  majority  of 
the  people.  And  the  fact  that  many  of  our 
statesmen  most  distinguished  for  talent  and 
patriotism  have  been  at  one  time  or  other  of 
their  political  career  on  both  sides  of  each  of 
the  most  warmly  disputed  questions  forces 
upon  us  the  inference  that  the  errors,  if  errors 
there  were,  are  attributable  to  the  intrinsic 
difficulty  in  many  instances  of  ascertaining  the 
intentions  of  the  framers  of  the  Constitution 
rather  than  the  influence  of  any  sinister  or 
unpatriotic  motive.  But  the  great  danger  to 
our  institutions  does  not  appear  to  me  to  be  in 
a  usurpation  by  the  Government  of  power  not 
granted  by  the  people,  but  by  the  accumula- 
tion in  one  of  the  departments  of  that  which 
was  assigned  to  others.  Limited  as  are  the 
powers  which  have  been  granted,  still  enough 
have  been  granted  to  constitute  a  despotism  if 
concentrated  in  one  of  the  departments.  This 
danger  is  greatly  heightened,  as  it  has  been 
always  observable  that  men  are  less  jealous  of 
encroachments  of  one  department  upon  another 
than  upon  their  own  reserved  rights.  When 
the   Constitution    of   the  United    States  first 


148 


came  from  the  hands  of  the  Convention  which 
formed  it,  many  of  the  sternest  repubhcans  of 
the  day  were  alarmed  at  the  extent  of  the 
power  which  had  been  granted  to  the  Federal 
Government,  and  more  particularly  of  that 
portion  which  had  been  assigned  to  the  execu- 
tive branch.  There  were  in  it  features  which 
appeared  not  to  be  in  harmony  with  their  ideas 
of  a  simple  representative  democracy  or  repub- 
lic, and  knowing  the  tendency  of  power  to 
increase  itself,  particularly  when  exercised  by 
a  single  individual,  predictions  were  made  that 
at  no  very  remote  period  the  Government 
would  terminate  in  virtual  monarchy.  It 
would  not  become  me  to  say  that  the  fears  of 
these  patriots  have  been  already  reahzed;  but 
as  I  sincerely  believe  that  the  tendency  of 
measures  and  of  men's  opinions  for  some 
years  past  has  been  in  that  direction,  it  is,  I 
conceive,  strictly  proper  that  I  should  take  this 
occasion  to  repeat  the  assurances  I  have  here- 
tofore given  of  my  determination  to  arrest  the 
progress  of  that  tendency  if  it  really  exists  and 
restore  the  Government  to  its  pristine  health 
and  vigor,  as  far  as  this  can  be  effected  by 
any  legitimate  exercise  of  the  power  placed  in 
my  hands. 

I  proceed  to  state  in  as  summary  a  man- 
ner as  I  can  my  opinion  of  the  sources  of  the 
evils  which  have  been  so  extensively  com- 
plained of  and  the  correctives  which  may  be 
applied.     Some  of  the  former  are  unquestion- 

149 


g^naugural  ^hhttfi^t^ 


ably  to  be  found  in  the  defects  of  the  Consti- 
tution; others,  in  my  judgment,  are  attributable 
to  a  misconstruction  of  some  of  its  provisions. 
Of  the  former  is  the  eligibility  of  the  same 
individual  to  a  second  term  of  the  Presidency. 
The  sagacious  mind  of  Mr.  Jefferson  early  saw 
and  lamented  this  error,  and  attempts  have 
been  made,  hitherto  without  success,  to  apply 
the  amendatory  power  of  the  States  to  its  cor- 
rection. As,  however,  one  mode  of  correction 
is  in  the  power  of  every  President,  and  conse- 
quently in  mine,  it  would  be  useless,  and  per- 
haps invidious,  to  enumerate  the  evils  of  which, 
in  the  opinion  of  many  of  our  fellow-citizens, 
this  error  of  the  sages  who  framed  the  Consti- 
tution may  have  been  the  source  and  the  bitter 
fruits  which  we  are  still  to  gather  from  it  if  it 
continues  to  disfigure  our  system.  It  may  be 
observed,  however,  as  a  general  remark,  that 
republics  can  commit  no  greater  error  than  to 
adopt  or  continue  any  feature  in  their  systems 
of  government  which  may  be  calculated  to 
create  or  increase  the  love  of  power  in  the 
bosoms  of  those  to  whom  necessity  obliges 
them,  to  commit  the  management  of  their 
affairs;  and  surely  nothing  is  more  likely  to 
produce  such  a  state  of  mind  than  the  long 
continuance  of  an  office  of  high  trust.  Noth- 
ing can  be  more  corrupting,  nothing  more 
destructive  of  all  those  noble  feelings  which 
belong  to  the  character  of  a  devoted  republi- 
can patriot.  When  this  corrupting  passion 
150 


once  takes  possession  of  the  human  mind,  Hke 
the  love  of  gold  it  becomes  insatiable.  It  is 
the  never-dying  worm  in  his  bosom,  grows 
with  his  growth  and  strengthens  with  the 
declining  years  of  its  victim.  If  this  is  true, 
it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  for  a  republic  to  limit 
the  service  of  that  officer  at  least  to  whom  she 
has  intrusted  the  management  of  her  foreign 
relations,  the  execution  of  her  laws,  and  the 
command  of  her  armies  and  navies  to  a  period 
so  short  as  to  prevent  his  forgetting  that  he  is 
the  accountable  agent,  not  the  principal;  the 
servant,  not  the  master.  Until  an  amendment 
of  the  Constitution  can  be  effected  pubhc 
opinion  may  secure  the  desired  object.  I  give 
my  aid  to  it  by  renewing  the  pledge  heretofore 
given  that  under  no  circumstances  will  I  con- 
sent to  serve  a  second  term. 

But  if  there  is  danger  to  public  liberty  from 
the  acknowledged  defects  of  the  Constitution 
in  the  want  of  limit  to  the  continuance  of  the 
Executive  power  in  the  same  hands,  there  is, 
I  apprehend,  not  much  less  from  a  miscon- 
struction of  that  instrument  as  it  regards  the 
powers  actually  given.  I  cannot  conceive  that 
by  a  fair  construction  any  or  either  of  its  pro- 
visions would  be  found  to  constitute  the  Presi- 
dent a  part  of  the  legislative  power.  It  cannot 
be  claimed  from  the  power  to  recommend, 
since,  although  enjoined  as  a  duty  upon  him, 
it  is  a  privilege  which  he  holds  in  common  with 
every  other  citizen;  and  although  there  may 

151 


S^naugural  a.titire#i6fc^ 


be  something  more  of  confidence  in  the  propri- 
ety of  the  measures  recommended  in  the  one 
case  than  in  the  other,  in  the  obligations  of 
ultimate  decision  there  can  be  no  difference. 
In  the  language  of  the  Constitution,  **all  the 
legislative  powers"  which  it  grants  "are  vested 
in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States."  It 
would  be  a  solecism  in  language  to  say  that 
any  portion  of  these  is  not  included  in  the 
whole. 

It  may  be  said,  indeed,  that  the  Constitu- 
tion has  given  to  the  Executive  the  power  to 
annul  the  acts  of  the  legislative  body  by  refus- 
ing to  them  his  assent.  So  a  similar  power 
has  necessarily  resulted  from  that  instrument 
to  the  judiciary,  and  yet  the  judiciary  forms 
no  part  of  the  Legislature.  There  is,  it  is 
true,  this  difference  between  these  grants  of 
power:  The  Executive  can  put  his  negative 
upon  the  acts  of  the  Legislature  for  other  cause 
than  that  of  want  of  conformity  to  the  Consti- 
tution, whilst  the  judiciary  can  only  declare 
void  those  which  violate  that  instrument.  But 
the  decision  of  the  judiciary  is  final  in  such  a 
case,  whereas  in  every  instance  where  the  veto 
of  the  Executive  is  applied  it  may  be  overcome 
by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  both  Houses  of 
Congress.  The  negative  upon  the  acts  of  the 
legislative  by  the  executive  authority,  and  that 
in  the  hands  of  one  individual,  would  seem  to 
be  an  incongruity  in  our  system.  Like  some 
others  of  a  similar  character,  however,  it  ap- 

152 


pears  to  be  highly  expedient,  and  if  used  only 
with  the  forbearance  and  in  the  spirit  which 
was  intended  by  its  authors  it  may  be  produc- 
tive of  great  good  and  be  found  one  of  the 
best  safeguards  to  the  Union.  At  the  period 
of  the  formation  of  the  Constitution  the  prin- 
ciple does  not  appear  to  have  enjoyed  much 
favor  in  the  State  governments.  It  existed 
but  in  two,  and  in  one  of  these  there  was  a 
plural  executive.  If  we  would  search  for  the 
motives  which  operated  upon  the  purely  patri- 
otic and  enlightened  assembly  which  framed 
the  Constitution  for  the  adoption  of  a  provi- 
sion so  apparently  repugnant  to  the  leading 
democratic  principle  that  the  majority  should 
govern,  we  must  reject  the  idea  that  they 
anticipated  from  it  any  benefit  to  the  ordinary 
course  of  legislation.  They  knew  too  well 
the  high  degree  of  intelligence  which  existed 
among  the  people  and  the  enlightened  charac- 
ter of  the  State  legislatures  not  to  have  the 
fullest  confidence  that  the  two  bodies  elected 
by  them  would  be  worthy  representatives  of 
such  constituents,  and,  of  course,  that  they 
would  require  no  aid  in  conceiving  and  matur- 
ing the  measures  which  the  circumstances  of 
the  country  might  require.  And  it  is  prepos- 
terous to  suppose  that  a  thought  could  for  a 
moment  have  been  entertained  that  the  Presi- 
dent, placed  at  the  capital,  in  the  center  of  the 
country,  could  better  understand  the  wants 
and  wishes  of  the  people  than  their  own  imme- 

153 


S^naugutal  ^tihtt^^t0 


diate  representatives,  who  spend  a  part  of 
every  year  among  them,  living  with  them, 
often  laboring  with  them,  and  bound  to  them 
by  the  triple  tie  of  interest,  duty,  and  affec- 
tion. To  assist  or  control  Congress,  then,  in 
its  ordinary  legislation  could  not,  I  conceive, 
have  been  the  motive  for  conferring  the  veto 
power  on  the  President.  This  argument  ac- 
quires additional  force  from  the  fact  of  its 
never  having  been  thus  used  by  the  first  six 
Presidents — and  two  of  them  were  members 
of  the  Convention,  one  presiding  over  its  de- 
liberations and  the  other  bearing  a  larger  share 
in  consummating  the  labors  of  that  august 
body  than  any  other  person.  But  if  bills  were 
never  returned  to  Congress  by  either  of  the 
Presidents  above  referred  to  upon  the  ground 
of  their  being  inexpedient  or  not  as  well 
adapted  as  they  might  be  to  the  wants  of  the 
people,  the  veto  was  applied  upon  that  of  want 
of  conformity  to  the  Constitution  or  because 
errors  had  been  committed  from  a  too  hasty 
enactment. 

There  is  another  ground  for  the  adoption  of 
the  veto  principle,  which  had  probably  more 
influence  in  recommending  it  to  the  Conven- 
tion than  any  other.  I  refer  to  the  security 
which  it  gives  to  the  just  and  equitable  action 
of  the  Legislature  upon  all  parts  of  the  Union. 
It  could  not  but  have  occurred  to  the  Conven- 
tion that  in  a  country  so  extensive,  embracing 
so  great  a  variety  of  soil  and  climate,  and  con- 

154 


l©illiam  I^enrp  l^arri^on 

sequently  of  products,  and  which  from  the 
same  causes  must  ever  exhibit  a  great  differ- 
ence in  the  amount  of  the  population  of  its 
various  sections,  calhng  for  a  great  diversity 
in  the  employments  of  the  people,  that  the 
legislation  of  the  majority  might  not  always 
justly  regard  the  rights  and  interests  of  the 
minority,  and  that  acts  of  this  character  might 
be  passed  under  an  express  grant  by  the  words 
of  the  Constitution,  and  therefore  not  within 
the  competency  of  the  judiciary  to  declare 
void;  that  however  enlightened  and  patriotic 
they  might  suppose  from  past  experience  the 
members  of  Congress  might  be,  and  however 
largely  partaking,  in  the  general,  of  the  liberal 
feeHngs  of  the  people,  it  was  impossible  to 
expect  that  bodies  so  constituted  should  not 
sometimes  be  controlled  by  local  interests  and 
sectional  feelings.  It  was  proper,  therefore, 
to  provide  some  umpire  from  whose  situation 
and  mode  of  appointment  more  independence 
and  freedom  from  such  influences  might  be 
expected.  Such  a  one  was  afforded  by  the 
executive  department  constituted  by  the  Con- 
stitution. A  person  elected  to  that  high  office, 
having  his  constituents  in  every  section.  State, 
and  subdivision  of  the  Union,  must  consider 
himself  bound  by  the  most  solemn  sanctions  to 
guard,  protect,  and  defend  the  rights  of  all 
and  of  every  portion,  great  or  small,  from  the 
injustice  and  oppression  of  the  rest.  I  con- 
sider the  veto  power,  therefore,  given  by  the 

155 


S^naugural  aiDtire^je^eiB? 


Constitution  to  the  Executive  of  the  United 
States  solely  as  a  conservative  power,  to  be 
used  only,  first,  to  protect  the  Constitution 
from  violation;  secondly,  the  people  from  the 
effects  of  hasty  legislation  where  their  will  has 
been  probably  disregarded  or  not  well  under- 
stood, and,  thirdly,  to  prevent  the  effects  of 
combinations  violative  of  the  rights  of  minori- 
ties. In  reference  to  the  second  of  these 
objects  I  may  observe  that  I  consider  it  the 
right  and  privilege  of  the  people  to  decide  dis- 
puted points  of  the  Constitution  arising  from 
the  general  grant  of  power  to  Congress  to 
carry  into  effect  the  powers  expressly  given; 
and  I  believe  w^ith  Mr.  Madison  that  ** repeated 
recognitions  under  varied  circumstances  in  acts 
of  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
branches  of  the  Government,  accompanied  by 
indications  in  different  modes  of  the  concur- 
rence of  the  general  will  of  the  nation,"  as 
affording  to  the  President  sufficient  authority 
for  his  considering  such  disputed  points  as 
settled. 

Upward  of  half  a  century  has  elapsed  since 
the  adoption  of  the  present  form  of  govern- 
ment. It  would  be  an  object  more  highly 
desirable  than  the  gratification  of  the  curiosity 
of  speculative  statesmen  if  its  precise  situation 
could  be  ascertained,  a  fair  exhibit  made  of 
the  operations  of  each  of  its  departments,  of 
the  powers  which  they  respectively  claim  and 
exercise,  of  the  collisions  which  have  occurred 

156 


between  them  or  between  the  whole  Govern- 
ment and  those  of  the  States  or  either  of  them. 
We  could  then  compare  our  actual  condition 
after  fifty  years'  trial  of  our  system  with  what 
it  was  in  the  commencement  of  its  operations, 
and  ascertain  whether  the  predictions  of  the 
patriots  who  opposed  its  adoption  or  the  confi- 
dent hopes  of  its  advocates  have  been  best  real- 
ized. The  great  dread  of  the  former  seems  to 
have  been  that  the  reserved  powers  of  the  States 
would  be  absorbed  by  those  of  the  Federal 
Government,  and  a  consolidated  power  estab- 
Hshed,  leaving  to  the  States  the  shadow  only 
of  that  independent  action  for  which  they  had 
so  zealously  contended  and  on  the  preservation 
of  which  they  reHed  as  the  last  hope  of  liberty. 
Without  denying  that  the  result  to  which  they 
looked  with  so  much  apprehension  is  in  the 
way  of  being  realized,  it  is  obvious  that  they 
did  not  clearly  see  the  mode  of  its  accomplish- 
ment. The  General  Government  has  seized 
upon  none  of  the  reserved  rights  of  the  States. 
As  far  as  any  open  warfare  may  have  gone, 
the  State  authorities  have  amply  maintained 
their  rights.  To  a  casual  observer  our  system 
presents  no  appearance  of  discord  between  the 
different  members  which  compose  it.  Even 
the  addition  of  many  new  ones  has  produced 
no  jarring.  They  move  in  their  respective 
orbits  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  central 
head  and  with  each  other.  But  there  is  still 
an   undercurrent    at  work   by  which,    if   not 

157 


S^naugurai  3ltitire^^e0 


seasonably  checked,  the  worst  apprehensions 
of  our  antifederal  patriots  will  be  realized, 
and  not  only  will  the  State  authorities  be  over- 
shadowed by  the  great  increase  of  power  in  the 
executive  department  of  the  General  Govern- 
ment, but  the  character  of  that  Government, 
if  not  its  designation,  be  essentially  and  radi- 
cally changed.  This  state  of  things  has  been 
in  part  effected  by  causes  inherent  in  the  Con- 
stitution and  in  part  by  the  never-faihng  ten- 
dency of  political  power  to  increase  itself.  By 
making  the  President  the  sole  distributer  of  all 
the  patronage  of  the  Government  the  framers 
of  the  Constitution  do  not  appear  to  have 
anticipated  at  how  short  a  period  it  would 
become  a  formidable  instrument  to  control  the 
free  operations  of  the  State  governments.  Of 
trifling  importance  at  first,  it  had  early  in  Mr. 
Jefferson's  administration  become  so  powerful 
as  to  create  great  alarm  in  the  mind  of  that 
patriot  from  the  potent  influence  it  might  exert 
in  controlling  the  freedom  of  the  elective  fran- 
chise. If  such  could  have  then  been  the  effects 
of  its  influence,  how  much  greater  must  be 
the  danger  at  this  time,  quadrupled  in  amount 
as  it  certainly  is  and  more  completely  under 
the  control  of  the  Executive  will  than  their 
construction  of  their  powers  allowed  or  the  for- 
bearing characters  of  all  the  early  Presidents 
permitted  them  to  make.  But  it  is  not  by 
the  extent  of  its  patronage  alone  that  the 
executive  department  has  become  dangerous, 

158 


but  by  the  use  which  it  appears  may  be  made 
of  the  appointing  power  to  bring  under  its 
control  the  whole  revenues  of  the  country. 
The  Constitution  has  declared  it  to  be  the  duty 
of  the  President  to  see  that  the  laws  are  exe- 
cuted, and  it  makes  him  the  Commander  in 
Chief  of  the  Armies  and  Navy  of  the  United 
States.  If  the  opinion  of  the  most  approved 
writers  upon  that  species  of  mixed  government 
which  in  modern  Europe  is  termed  monarchy 
in  contradistinction  to  despotism  is  correct, 
there  was  wanting  no  other  addition  to  the 
powers  of  our  Chief  Magistrate  to  stamp  a 
monarchical  character  on  our  Government 
but  the  control  of  the  public  finances;  and  to 
me  it  appears  strange  indeed  that  any  one 
should  doubt  that  the  entire  control  which  the 
President  possesses  over  the  officers  who  have 
the  custody  of  the  public  money,  by  the  power 
of  removal  with  or  without  cause,  does,  for 
all  mischievous  purposes  at  least,  virtually 
subject  the  treasure  also  to  his  disposal.  The 
first  Roman  Emperor,  in  his  attempt  to  seize 
the  sacred  treasure,  silenced  the  opposition  of 
the  officer  to  whose  charge  it  had  been  com- 
mitted by  a  significant  allusion  to  his  sword. 
By  a  selection  of  political  instruments  for  the 
care  of  the  public  money  a  reference  to  their 
commissions  by  a  President  would  be  quite  as 
effectual  an  argument  as  that  of  Caesar  to  the 
Roman  knight.  I  am  not  insensible  of  the 
great  difficulty  that  exists  in  drawing  a  proper 

159 


2Fnau0ural  a.tiDrei6f^Cjef 


plan  for  the  safe-keeping  and  disbursement  of 
the  public  revenues,  and  I  know  the  impor- 
tance which  has  been  attached  by  men  of  great 
abihties  and  patriotism  to  the  divorce,  as 
it  is  called,  of  the  Treasury  from  the  banking 
institutions.  It  is  not  the  divorce  which  is 
complained  of,  but  the  unhallowed  union  of 
the  treasury  with  the  executive  department, 
which  has  created  such  extensive  alarm.  To 
this  danger  to  our  republican  institutions  and 
that  created  by  the  influence  given  to  the 
Executive  through  the  instrumentality  of  the 
federal  officers  I  propose  to  apply  all  the 
remedies  which  may  be  at  my  command.  It 
was  certainly  a  great  error  in  the  framers  of 
the  Constitution  not  to  have  made  the  officer  at 
the  head  of  the  Treasury  Department  entirely 
independent  of  the  Executive.  He  should 
at  least  have  been  removable  only  upon  the 
demand  of  the  popular  branch  of  the  Legisla- 
ture. I  have  determined  never  to  remove  a 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  without  communi- 
cating all  the  circumstances  attending  such 
removal  to  both  Houses  of  Congress. 

The  influence  of  the  Executive  in  controlhng 
the  freedom  of  the  elective  franchise  through 
the  medium  of  the  public  officers  can  be 
effectually  checked  by  renewing  the  prohibi- 
tion published  by  Mr.  Jefferson  forbidding 
their  interference  in  elections  further  than 
giving  their  own  votes,  and  their  own  inde- 
pendence secured  by  an  assurance  of  perfect 

i6o 


immunity  in  exercising  this  sacred  privilege  of 
freemen  under  the  dictates  of  their  own  un- 
biased judgments.  Never  with  my  consent 
shall  an  officer  of  the  people,  compensated  for 
his  services  out  of  their  pockets,  become  the 
phant  instrument  of  Executive  will. 

There  is  no  part  of  the  means  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  Executive  which  might  be  used 
with  greater  effect  for  unhallowed  purposes 
than  the  control  of  the  pubhc  press.  The 
maxim  which  our  ancestors  derived  from  the 
mother  country  that  **the  freedom  of  the  press 
is  the  great  bulwark  of  civil  and  religious  lib- 
erty" is  one  of  the  most  precious  legacies 
which  they  have  left  us.  We  have  learned, 
too,  from  our  own  as  well  as  the  experience  of 
other  countries,  that  golden  shackles,  by 
whomsoever  or  by  whatever  pretense  imposed, 
are  as  fatal  to  it  as  the  iron  bonds  of  despot- 
ism. The  presses  in  the  necessary  employ- 
ment of  the  Government  should  never  be  used 
**to  clear  the  guilty  or  to  varnish  crime."  A 
decent  and  manly  examination  of  the  acts  of 
the  Government  should  be  not  only  tolerated, 
but  encouraged. 

Upon  another  occasion  I  have  given  my 
opinion  at  some  length  upon  the  impropriety 
of  Executive  interference  in  the  legislation  of 
Congress — that  the  article  in  the  Constitution 
making  it  the  duty  of  the  President  to  com- 
municate information  and  authorizing  him  to 
recommend    measures   was   not    intended   to 

l6l 


S^naugural  aDlirejBfj8?e^ 


make  him  the  source  in  legislation,  and,  in 
particular,  that  he  should  never  be  looked  to 
for  schemes  of  finance.  It  would  be  very 
strange,  indeed,  that  the  Constitution  should 
have  strictly  forbidden  one  branch  of  the 
Legislature  from  interfering  in  the  origination 
of  such  bills  and  that  it  should  be  considered 
proper  that  an  altogether  different  department 
of  the  Government  should  be  permitted  to  do 
so.  Some  of  our  best  political  maxims  and 
opinions  have  been  drawn  from  our  parent  isle. 
There  are  others,  however,  which  cannot  be 
introduced  in  our  system  without  singular 
incongruity  and  the  production  of  much  mis- 
chief, and  this  I  conceive  to  be  one.  No 
matter  in  which  of  the  houses  of  Parliament  a 
bill  may  originate  nor  by  whom  introduced — 
a  minister  or  a  member  of  the  opposition — by 
the  fiction  of  law,  or  rather  of  constitutional 
principle,  the  sovereign  is  supposed  to  have 
prepared  it  agreeably  to  his  will  and  then  sub- 
mitted it  to  Parhament  for  their  advice  and 
consent.  Now  the  very  reverse  is  the  case 
here,  not  only  with  regard  to  the  principle, 
but  the  forms  prescribed  by  the  Constitution. 
The  principle  certainly  assigns  to  the  only  body 
constituted  by  the  Constitution  (the  legislative 
body)  the  power  to  make  laws,  and  the  forms 
even  direct  that  the  enactment  should  be 
ascribed  to  them.  The  Senate,  in  relation  to 
revenue  bills,  have  the  right  to  propose  amend- 
ments, and  so  has  the  Executive  by  the  power 
162 


given  him  to  return  them  to  the  House  of 
Representatives  with  his  objections.  It  is  in 
his  power  also  to  propose  amendments  in  the 
existing  revenue  laws,  suggested  by  his  obser- 
vations upon  their  defective  or  injurious  oper- 
ation. But  the  delicate  duty  of  devising 
schemes  of  revenue  should  be  left  where  the 
Constitution  has  placed  it — with  the  immediate 
representatives  of  the  people.  For  similar 
reasons  the  mode  of  keeping  the  public  treas- 
ure should  be  prescribed  by  them,  and  the 
further  removed  it  may  be  from  the  control  of 
the  Executive  the  more  wholesome  the  ar- 
rangement and  the  more  in  accordance  with 
republican  principle. 

Connected  with  this  subject  is  the  character 
of  the  currency.  The  idea  of  making  it  ex- 
clusively metallic,  however  well  intended, 
appears  to  me  to  be  fraught  with  more  fatal 
consequences  than  any  other  scheme  having 
no  relation  to  the  personal  rights  of  the  citi- 
zens that  has  ever  been  devised.  If  any  single 
scheme  could  produce  the  effect  of  arresting 
at  once  that  mutation  of  condition  by  which 
thousands  of  our  most  indigent  fellow-citizens 
by  their  industry  and  enterprise  are  raised  to 
the  possession  of  wealth,  that  is  the  one.  If 
there  is  one  measure  better  calculated  than 
another  to  produce  that  state  of  things  so 
much  deprecated  by  all  true  republicans,  by 
which  the  rich  are  daily  adding  to  their  hoards 
and  the  poor  sinking  deeper  into  penury,  it  is 

163 


S^naugural  ^nt^tt^^t^ 


an  exclusive  metallic  currency.  Or  if  there  is 
a  process  by  which  the  character  of  the  coun- 
try for  generosity  and  nobleness  of  feeling 
may  be  destroyed  by  the  great  increase  and 
necessary  toleration  of  usury,  it  is  an  exclusive 
metalHc  currency. 

Amongst  the  other  duties  of  a  delicate  char- 
acter which  the  President  is  called  upon  to 
perform  is  the  supervision  of  the  government 
of  the  Territories  of  the  United  States.  Those 
of  them  which  are  destined  to  become  mem- 
bers of  our  great  political  family  are  compen- 
sated by  their  rapid  progress  from  infancy  to 
manhood  for  the  partial  and  temporary  depri- 
vation of  their  political  rights.  It  is  in  this 
District  only  where  American  citizens  are  to 
be  found  who  under  a  settled  policy  are  de- 
prived of  many  important  political  privileges 
without  any  inspiring  hope  as  to  the  future. 
Their  only  consolation  under  circumstances  of 
such  deprivation  is  that  of  the  devoted  exterior 
guards  of  a  camp — that  their  sufferings  secure 
tranquillity  and  safety  within.  Are  there  any 
of  their  countrymen  who  would  subject  them 
to  greater  sacrifices,  to  any  other  humiliations 
than  those  essentially  necessary  to  the  security 
of  the  object  for  which  they  were  thus  separ- 
ated from  their  fellow-citizens.?  Are  their 
rights  alone  not  to  be  guaranteed  by  the  appli- 
cation of  those  great  principles  upon  which 
all  our  constitutions  are  founded.?  We  are 
told  by  the   greatest  of   British  orators  and 

164 


statesmen  that  at  the  commencement  of  the 
War  of  the  Revolution  the  most  stupid  men 
in  England  spoke  of  "their  American  sub- 
jects." Are  there,  indeed,  citizens  of  any  of 
our  States  who  have  dreamed  of  their  subjects 
in  the  District  of  Columbia?  Such  dreams 
can  never  be  realized  by  any  agency  of  mine. 
The  people  of  the  District  of  Columbia  are 
not  the  subjects  of  the  people  of  the  States, 
but  free  American  citizens.  Being  in  the 
latter  condition  when  the  Constitution  was 
formed,  no  words  used  in  that  instrument 
could  have  been  intended  to  deprive  them  of 
that  character.  If  there  is  anything  in  the 
great  principle  of  unalienable  rights  so  em- 
phatically insisted  upon  in  our  Declaration  of 
Independence,  they  could  neither  make  nor 
the  United  States  accept  a  surrender  of  their 
liberties  and  become  the  subjects — in  other 
words,  the  slaves — of  their  former  fellow-citi- 
zens. If  this  be  true — and  it  will  scarcely  be 
denied  by  any  one  who  has  a  correct  idea  of 
his  own  rights  as  an  American  citizen — the 
grant  to  Congress  of  exclusive  jurisdiction  in 
the  District  of  Columbia  can  be  interpreted, 
so  far  as  respects  the  aggregate  people  of  the 
United  States,  as  meaning  nothing  more  than 
to  allow  to  Congress  the  controlling  power 
necessary  to  afford  a  free  and  safe  exercise  of 
the  functions  assigned  to  the  General  Govern- 
ment by  the  Constitution.  In  all  other  respects 
the  legislation  of  Congress  should  be  adapted 

165 


S^naugural  3ltibre^i0?e^ 


to  their  peculiar  position  and  wants  and  be 
comformable  with  their  deUberate  opinions  of 
their  own  interests. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  necessity  of  keeping 
the  respective  departments  of  the  Govern- 
ment, as  well  as  all  the  other  authorities  of 
our  country,  within  their  appropriate  orbits. 
This  is  a  matter  of  difficulty  in  some  cases,  as 
the  powers  which  they  respectively  claim  are 
often  not  defined  by  any  distinct  lines.  Mis- 
chievous, however,  in  their  tendencies  as  col- 
Hsions  of  this  kind  may  be,  those  which  arise 
between  the  respective  communities  which  for 
certain  purposes  compose  one  nation  are  much 
more  so,  for  no  such  nation  can  long  exist 
without  the  careful  culture  of  those  feelings  of 
confidence  and  affection  which  are  the  effective 
bonds  to  union  between  free  and  confederated 
states.  Strong  as  is  the  tie  of  interest,  it  has 
been  often  found  ineffectual.  Men  blinded 
by  their  passions  have  been  known  to  adopt 
measures  for  their  country  in  direct  opposition 
to  all  the  suggestions  of  policy.  The  alterna- 
tive, then,  is  to  destroy  or  keep  down  a  bad 
passion  by  creating  and  fostering  a  good  one, 
and  this  seems  to  be  the  cornerstone  upon 
which  our  American  political  architects  have 
reared  the  fabric  of  our  Government.  The 
cement  which  was  to  bind  it  and  perpetuate 
its  existence  was  the  affectionate  attachment 
between  all  its  members.  To  insure  the  con- 
tinuance of  this  feeling,  produced  at  first  by  a 

i66 


community  of  dangers,  of  sufferings,  and  of 
interests,  the  advantages  of  each  were  made 
accessible  to  all.  No  participation  in  any 
good  possessed  by  any  member  of  our  exten- 
sive Confederacy,  except  in  domestic  govern- 
ment, w^as  withheld  from  the  citizen  of  any 
other  member.  By  a  process  attended  with 
no  difficulty,  no  delay,  no  expense  but  that  of 
removal,  the  citizen  of  one  might  become  the 
citizen  of  any  other,  and  successively  of  the 
whole.  The  lines,  too,  separating  powers  to 
be  exercised  by  the  citizens  of  one  State  from 
those  of  another  seem  to  be  so  distinctly  drawn 
as  to  leave  no  room  for  misunderstanding. 
The  citizens  of  each  State  unite  in  their  per- 
sons all  the  privileges  which  that  character 
confers  and  all  that  they  may  claim  as  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  but  in  no  case  can  the 
same  persons  at  the  same  time  act  as  the  citi- 
zen of  two  separate  States,  and  he  is  therefore 
positively  precluded  from  any  interference  with 
the  reserved  powers  of  any  State  but  that  of 
which  he  is  for  the  time  being  a  citizen.  He 
may,  indeed,  offer  to  the  citizens  of  other 
States  his  advice  as  to  their  management,  and 
the  form  in  which  it  is  tendered  is  left  to  his 
own  discretion  and  sense  of  propriety.  It 
may  be  observed,  however,  that  organized 
associations  of  citizens  requiring  compliance 
with  their  wishes  too  much  resemble  the 
recommendations  of  Athens  to  her  allies,  sup- 
ported by  an  armed  and  powerful  fleet.  It 
167 


S^naugural  aDDre^jefe^ 


was,  indeed,  to  the  ambition  of  the  leading 
States  of  Greece  to  control  the  domestic  con- 
cerns of  the  others  that  the  destruction  of  that 
celebrated  Confederacy,  and  subsequently  of 
all  its  members,  is  mainly  to  be  attributed,  and 
it  is  owing  to  the  absence  of  that  spirit  that 
the  Helvetic  Confederacy  has  for  so  many 
years  been  preserved.  Never  has  there  been 
seen  in  the  institutions  of  the  separate  mem- 
bers of  any  confederacy  more  elements  of 
discord.  In  the  principles  and  forms  of  gov- 
ernment and  religion,  as  well  as  in  the  circum- 
stances of  the  several  Cantons,  so  marked  a 
discrepancy  was  observable  as  to  promise  any- 
thing but  harmony  in  their  intercourse  or  per- 
manency in  their  alliance,  and  yet  for  ages 
neither  has  been  interrupted.  Content  with 
the  positive  benefits  which  their  union  pro- 
duced, with  the  independence  and  safety  from 
foreign  aggression  which  it  secured,  these 
sagacious  people  respected  the  institutions  of 
each  other,  however  repugnant  to  their  own 
principles  and  prejudices. 

Our  Confederacy,  fellow-citizens,  can  only 
be  preserved  by  the  same  forbearance.  Our 
citizens  must  be  content  with  the  exercise  of 
the  powers  with  which  the  Constitution  clothes 
them.  The  attempt  of  those  of  one  State  to 
control  the  domestic  institutions  of  another  can 
only  result  in  feelings  of  distrust  and  jealousy, 
the  certain  harbingers  of  disunion,  violence, 
and  civil  war,  and  the  ultimate  destruction  of 
i68 


our  free  institutions.  Our  Confederacy  is 
perfectly  illustrated  by  the  terms  and  prin- 
ciples governing  a  common  co-partnership. 
There  is  a  fund  of  power  to  be  exercised  under 
the  direction  of  the  joint  councils  of  the  aUied 
members,  but  that  which  has  been  reserved  by 
the  individual  members  is  intangible  by  the 
common  Government  or  the  individual  mem- 
bers composing  it.  To  attempt  it  finds  no 
support  in  the  principles  of  our  Constitution. 

It  should  be  our  constant  and  earnest  en- 
deavor mutually  to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  concord 
and  harmony  among  the  various  parts  of  our 
Confederacy.  Experience  has  abundantly 
taught  us  that  the  agitation  by  citizens  of  one 
part  of  the  Union  of  a  subject  not  confided  to 
the  General  Government,  but  exclusively  under 
the  guardianship  of  the  local  authorities,  is 
productive  of  no  other  consequences  than 
bitterness,  alienation,  discord,  and  injury  to 
the  very  cause  which  is  intended  to  be  ad- 
vanced. Of  all  the  great  interests  which  ap- 
pertain to  our  country,  that  of  union — cordial, 
confiding,  fraternal  union — is  by  far  the  most 
important,  since  it  is  the  only  true  and  sure 
guaranty  of  all  others. 

In  consequence  of  the  embarrassed  state  of 
business  and  the  currency,  some  of  the  States 
may  meet  with  difficulty  in  their  financial  con- 
cerns .  However  deeply  we  may  regret  anything 
imprudent  or  excessive  in  the  engagements 
into  which  States  have  entered  for  purposes 

169 


5FnauguraI  aDbre^s^eief 


of  their  own,  it  does  not  become  us  to  dispar- 
age the  State  governments,  nor  to  discourage 
them  from  making  proper  efforts  for  their  own 
relief.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  our  duty  to 
encourage  them  to  the  extent  of  our  constitu- 
tional authority  to  apply  their  best  means  and 
cheerfully  to  make  all  necessary  sacrifices  and 
submit  to  all  necessary  burdens  to  fulfill  their 
engagements  and  maintain  their  credit,  for  the 
character  and  credit  of  the  several  States  form 
a  part  of  the  character  and  credit  of  the  whole 
country.  The  resources  of  the  country  are 
abundant,  the  enterprise  and  activity  of  our 
people  proverbial,  and  we  may  well  hope  that 
wise  legislation  and  prudent  administration  by 
the  respective  governments,  each  acting  within 
its  own  sphere,  will  restore  former  prosperity. 
Unpleasant  and  even  dangerous  as  collisions 
may  sometimes  be  between  the  constituted 
authorities  of  the  citizens  of  our  country  in 
relation  to  the  lines  which  separate  their  re- 
spective jurisdictions,  the  results  can  be  of  no 
vital  injury  to  our  institutions  if  that  ardent 
patriotism,  that  devoted  attachment  to  liberty, 
that  spirit  of  moderation  and  forbearance  for 
which  our  countrymen  were  once  distinguished, 
continue  to  be  cherished.  If  this  continues  to 
be  the  ruling  passion  of  our  souls,  the  weaker 
feeling  of  the  mistaken  enthusiast  will  be  cor- 
rected, the  Utopian  dreams  of  the  scheming 
politician  dissipated,  and  the  comphcated  in- 
trigues of  the  demagogue  rendered  harmless. 

170 


I©tlliam  l^eurp  i^arti^on 

The  spirit  of  liberty  is  the  sovereign  balm  for 
every  injury  which  our  institutions  may  receive. 
On  the  contrary,  no  care  that  can  be  used  in 
the  construction  of  our  Government,  no  divi- 
sion of  powers,  no  distribution  of  checks  in  its 
several  departments,  will  prove  effectual  to 
keep  us  a  free  people  if  this  spirit  is  suffered 
to  decay;  and  decay  it  will  without  constant 
nurture.  To  the  neglect  of  this  duty  the 
best  historians  agree  in  attributing  the  ruin  of 
all  the  republics  with  whose  existence  and 
fall  their  writings  have  made  us  acquainted. 
The  same  causes  will  ever  produce  the  same 
effects,  and  as  long  as  the  love  of  power  is  a 
dominant  passion  of  the  human  bosom,  and  as 
long  as  the  understandings  of  men  can  be 
warped  and  their  affections  changed  by  oper- 
ations upon  their  passions  and  prejudices,  so 
long  will  the  liberties  of  a  people  depend  on 
their  own  constant  attention  to  its  preserva- 
tion. The  danger  to  all  well-established  free 
governments  arises  from  the  unwillingness  of 
the  people  to  believe  in  its  existence  or  from 
the  influence  of  designing  men  diverting  their 
attention  from  the  quarter  whence  it  approaches 
to  a  source  from  which  it  can  never  come. 
This  is  the  old  trick  of  those  who  would  usurp 
the  government  of  their  country.  In  the  name 
of  democracy  they  speak,  warning  the  people 
against  the  influence  of  wealth  and  the  danger 
of  aristocracy.  History,  ancient  and  modem, 
is  full  of  such  examples.  Caesar  became  the 
171 


S^naugucal  3H>Dre^j0?e^ 


master  of  the  Roman  people  and  the  senate 
under  the  pretense  of  supporting  the  demo- 
cratic claims  of  the  former  against  the  aristoc- 
racy of  the  latter;  Cromwell,  in  the  character 
of  protector  of  the  liberties  of  the  people, 
became  the  dictator  of  England,  and  Bolivar 
possessed  himself  of  unlimited  power  with  the 
title  of  his  country's  liberator.  There  is,  on 
the  contrary,  no  instance  on  record  of  an  ex- 
tensive and  well-established  repubhc  being 
changed  into  an  aristocracy.  The  tendencies 
of  all  such  governments  in  their  decline  is  to 
monarchy,  and  the  antagonist  principle  to  lib- 
erty there  is  the  spirit  of  faction — a  spirit 
which  assumes  the  character  and  in  times  of 
great  excitement  imposes  itself  upon  the  peo- 
ple as  the  genuine  spirit  of  freedom,  and,  hke 
the  false  Christs  whose  coming  was  foretold 
by  the  Savior,  seeks  to,  and  were  it  possible 
would,  impose  upon  the  true  and  most  faith- 
ful disciples  of  liberty.  It  is  in  periods  like 
this  that  it  behooves  the  people  to  be  most 
watchful  of  those  to  whom  they  have  intrusted 
power.  And  although  there  is  at  times  much 
difficulty  in  distinguishing  the  false  from  the 
true  spirit,  a  calm  and  dispassionate  investiga- 
tion will  detect  the  counterfeit,  as  well  by  the 
character  of  its  operations  as  the  results  that 
are  produced.  The  true  spirit  of  liberty, 
although  devoted,  persevering,  bold,  and  un- 
compromising in  principle,  that  secured  is  mild 
and  tolerant  and  scrupulous  as  to  the  means  it 

172 


i©tlliam  i^enrp  I^arri^afon 

employs,  whilst  the  spirit  of  party,  assuming 
to  be  that  of  liberty,  is  harsh,  vindictive,  and 
intolerant,  and  totally  reckless  as  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  allies  which  it  brings  to  the  aid  of 
its  cause.  When  the  genuine  spirit  of  liberty 
animates  the  body  of  a  people  to  a  thorough 
examination  of  their  affairs,  it  leads  to  the 
excision  of  every  excrescence  which  may  have 
fastened  itself  upon  any  of  the  departments  of 
the  government,  and  restores  the  system  to  its 
pristine  health  and  beauty.  But  the  reign  of 
an  intolerant  spirit  of  party  amongst  a  free 
people  seldom  fails  to  result  in  a  dangerous 
accession  to  the  executive  power  introduced 
and  established  amidst  unusual  professions  of 
devotion  to  democracy. 

The  foregoing  remarks  relate  almost  exclu- 
sively to  matters  connected  with  our  domestic 
concerns.  It  may  be  proper,  however,  that  I 
should  give  some  indications  to  my  fellow-citi- 
zens of  my  proposed  course  of  conduct  in  the 
management  of  our  foreign  relations.  I  assure 
them,  therefore,  that  it  is  my  intention  to  use 
every  means  in  my  power  to  preserve  the 
friendly  intercourse  which  now  so  happily 
subsists  with  every  foreign  nation,  and  that 
although,  of  course,  not  well  informed  as  to 
the  state  of  pending  negotiations  with  any  of 
them,  I  see  in  the  personal  characters  of  the 
sovereigns,  as  well  as  in  the  mutual  interests 
of  our  own  and  of  the  governments  with  which 
our    relations  are   most  intimate,   a  pleasing 

173 


S^naugural  atiDre^iSfe^ 


guaranty  that  the  harmony  so  important  to 
the  interests  of  their  subjects  as  well  as  of  our 
citizens  will  not  be  interrupted  by  the  ad- 
vancement of  any  claim  or  pretension  upon 
their  part  to  which  our  honor  would  not  per- 
mit us  to  yield.  Long  the  defender  of  my 
country's  rights  in  the  field,  I  trust  that  my 
fellow-citizens  will  not  see  in  my  earnest  desire 
to  preserve  peace  with  foreign  powers  any  in- 
dication that  their  rights  will  ever  be  sacrificed 
or  the  honor  of  the  nation  tarnished  by  any 
admission  on  the  part  of  their  Chief  Magistrate 
unworthy  of  their  former  glory.  In  our  inter- 
course with  our  aboriginal  neighbors  the  same 
liberality  and  justice  which  marked  the  course 
prescribed  to  me  by  two  of  my  illustrious  pre- 
decessors when  acting  under  their  direction  in 
the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  superintendent 
and  commissioner  shall  be  strictly  observed. 
I  can  conceive  of  no  more  sublime  spectacle, 
none  more  likely  to  propitiate  an  impartial  and 
common  Creator,  than  a  rigid  adherence  to 
the  principles  of  justice  on  the  part  of  a  power- 
ful nation  in  its  transactions  with  a  weaker  and 
uncivilized  people  whom  circumstances  have 
placed  at  its  disposal. 

Before  concluding,  fellow-citizens,  I  must 
say  something  to  you  on  the  subject  of  the 
parties  at  this  time  existing  in  our  country. 
To  me  it  appears  perfectly  clear  that  the  inter- 
est of  that  country  requires  that  the  violence 
of  the  spirit  by  which  those  parties  are  at  this 

174 


time  governed  must  be  greatly  mitigated,  if 
not  entirely  extinguished,  or  consequences  will 
ensue  which  are  appalling  to  be  thought  of. 

If  parties  in  a  republic  are  necessary  to 
secure  a  degree  of  vigilance  sufficient  to  keep 
the  public  functionaries  within  the  bounds  of 
law  and  duty,  at  that  point  their  usefulness 
ends.  Beyond  that  they  become  destructive 
of  public  virtue,  the  parent  of  a  spirit  antago- 
nist to  that  of  liberty,  and  eventually  its  inevit- 
able conqueror.  We  have  examples  of  republics 
where  the  love  of  country  and  of  liberty  at  one 
time  were  the  dominant  passions  of  the  whole 
mass  of  citizens,  and  yet,  with  the  continuance 
of  the  name  and  forms  of  free  government, 
not  a  vestige  of  these  qualities  remaining  in 
the  bosoms  of  any  one  of  its  citizens.  It  was 
the  beautiful  remark  of  a  distinguished  EngHsh 
writer  that  **in  the  R.oman  senate  Octavius 
had  a  party  and  Antony  a  party,  but  the  Com- 
monwealth had  none."  Yet  the  senate  con- 
tinued to  meet  in  the  temple  of  liberty  to  talk 
of  the  sacredness  and  beauty  of  the  Common- 
wealth and  gaze  at  the  statues  of  the  elder 
Brutus  and  of  the  Curtii  and  Decii,  and  the 
people  assembled  in  the  forum,  not,  as  in  the 
days  of  Camillus  and  the  Scipios,  to  cast  their 
free  votes  for  annual  magistrates  or  pass  upon 
the  acts  of  the  senate,  but  to  receive  from  the 
hands  of  the  leaders  of  the  respective  parties 
their  share  of  the  spoils  and  to  shout  for  one 
or  the  other,  as  those  collected  in  Gaul  or 

175 


3^naugural  atJDrei6?^e^ 


Egypt  and  the  lesser  Asia  would  furnish  the 
larger  dividend.  The  spirit  of  liberty  had 
fled,  and,  avoiding  the  abodes  of  civilized 
man,  had  sought  protection  in  the  wilds  of 
Scythia  or  Scandinavia;  and  so  under  the 
operation  of  the  same  causes  and  influences  it 
will  fly  from  our  capitol  and  our  forums.  A 
calamity  so  awful,  not  only  to  our  countr}-, 
but  to  the  world,  must  be  deprecated  by  every 
patriot  and  every  tendency  to  a  state  of  things 
likely  to  produce  it  immediately  checked. 
Such  a  tendency  has  existed — does  exist. 
Always  the  friend  of  my  countrymen,  never 
their  flatterer,  it  becomes  my  duty  to  say  to 
them  from  this  high  place  to  which  their  par- 
tiality has  exalted  me  that  there  exists  in  the 
land  a  spirit  hostile  to  their  best  interests — 
hostile  to  hberty  itself.  It  is  a  spirit  con- 
tracted in  its  views,  selfish  in  its  objects.  It 
looks  to  the  aggrandizement  of  a  few  even  to 
the  destruction  of  the  interests  of  the  whole. 
The  entire  remedy  is  with  the  people.  Some- 
thing, however,  may  be  effected  by  the  means 
which  they  have  placed  in  my  hands.  It  is 
union  that  we  want,  not  of  a  party  for  the 
sake  of  that  party,  but  a  union  of  the  whole 
country  for  the  sake  of  the  whole  country,  for 
the  defense  of  its  interests  and  its  honor  against 
foreign  aggression,  for  the  defense  of  those 
principles  for  which  our  ancestors  so  gloriously 
contended.  As  far  as  it  depends  upon  me  it 
shall  be  accompHshed.     All  the  influence  that 

176 


agiltiam  l^entp  i^atrijS^on 

I  possess  shall  be  exerted  to  prevent  the  for- 
mation at  least  of  an  Executive  party  in  the 
halls  of  the  legislative  body.  I  wish  for  the 
support  of  no  member  of  that  body  to  any 
measure  of  mine  that  does  not  satisfy  his  judg- 
ment and  his  sense  of  duty  to  those  from 
whom  he  holds  his  appointment,  nor  any  con- 
fidence in  advance  from  the  people  but  that 
asked  for  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  **to  give  firmness 
and  effect  to  the  legal  administration  of  their 
affairs." 

I  deem  the  present  occasion  sufficiently  im- 
portant and  solemn  to  justify  me  in  expressing 
to  my  fellow-citizens  a  profound  reverence  for 
the  Christian  religion,  and  a  thorough  convic- 
tion that  sound  morals,  religious  liberty,  and  a 
just  sense  of  religious  responsibility  are  essen- 
tially connected  with  all  true  and  lasting  happi- 
ness; and  to  that  good  Being  who  has  blessed 
us  by  the  gifts  of  civil  and  religious  freedom, 
who  watched  over  and  prospered  the  labors  of 
our  fathers,  and  has  hitherto  preserved  to  us 
institutions  far  exceeding  in  excellence  those 
of  any  other  people,  let  us  unite  in  fervently 
commending  every  interest  of  our  beloved 
country  in  all  future  time. 

Fellow-citizens,  being  fully  invested  with 
that  high  office  to  which  the  partiality  of  my 
countrymen  has  called  me,  I  now  take  an 
affectionate  leave  of  you.  You  will  bear  with 
you  to  your  homes  the  remembrance  of  the 
pledge  I  have  this  day  given  to  discharge  all 

177 


S^naugural  aDDre^ef^ejef 


the  high  duties  of  my  exalted  station  accord- 
ing to  the  best  of  my  ability,  and  I  shall  enter 
upon  their  performance  with  entire  confidence 
in  the  support  of  a  just  and  generous  people. 
March  4,  1841. 


[78 


INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


Washington,  April  9,  1841. 
To  THE  People  of  the  United  States. 

FELLOW-CITIZENS:  Before  my  ar- 
rival at  the  seat  of  Government  the 
painful  communication  was  made  to  you 
by  the  officers  presiding  over  the  several 
Departments  of  the  deeply  regretted  death 
of  Wilham  Henry  Harrison,  late  President  of 
the  United  States.  Upon  him  you  had  con- 
ferred your  suffrages  for  the  first  office  in 
your  gift,  and  had  selected  him  as  your 
chosen  instrument  to  correct  and  reform  all 
such  errors  and  abuses  as  had  manifested 
themselves  from  time  to  time  in  the  practical 
operation  of  the  Government.  While  standing 
at  the  threshhold  of  this  great  work  he  has  by 
the  dispensation  of  an  all-wise  Providence 
been  removed  from  amongst  us,  and  by  the 
provisions  of  the  Constitution  the  efforts  to  be 
directed  to  the  accomplishing  of  this  vitally 
important  task  have  devolved  upon  myself. 
This  same  occurrence  has  subjected  the  wis- 
dom and  sufficiency  of  our  institutions  to  a 
new  test.  For  the  first  time  in  our  history 
the  person  elected  to  the  Vice-Presidency  of  the 
United  States,  by  the  happening  of  a  contin- 

179 


S^naugural  3lDDre^iefe^ 


gency  provided  for  in  the  Constitution,  has  had 
devolved  upon  him  the  Presidential  office. 
The  spirit  of  faction,  which  is  directly  opposed 
to  the  spirit  of  a  lofty  patriotism,  may  find  in 
this  occasion  for  assaults  upon  my  Administra- 
tion; and  in  succeeding,  under  circumstances 
so  sudden  and  unexpected,  and  to  responsibili- 
ties so  greatly  augmented,  to  the  administra- 
tion of  public  affairs  I  shall  place  in  the 
intelligence  and  patriotism  of  the  people  my 
only  sure  reliance.  My  earnest  prayer  shall  be 
constantly  addressed  to  the  all-wise  and  all- 
powerful  Being  who  made  me,  and  by  whose 
dispensation  I  am  called  to  the  high  office  of 
President  of  this  Confederacy,  understand- 
ingly  to  carry  out  the  principles  of  that  Con- 
stitution which  I  have  sworn  "to  protect, 
preserve,  and  defend." 

The  usual  opportunity  which  is  afforded  to 
a  Chief  Magistrate  upon  his  induction  to  office, 
of  presenting  to  his  countrymen  an  exposition  of 
the  policy  which  would  guide  his  Administra- 
tion, in  the  form  of  an  inaugural  address,  not 
having,  under  the  peculiar  circumstances  which 
have  brought  me  to  the  discharge  of  the  high 
duties  of  President  of  the  United  States,  been 
afforded  to  me,  a  brief  exposition  of  the  prin- 
ciples which  will  govern  me  in  the  general 
course  of  my  administration  of  public  affairs 
would  seem  to  be  due  as  well  to  myself  as  to 
you. 

In  regard  to  foreign  nations,  the  ground- 

i8o 


3FoI)n  €plet 


work  of  my  policy  will  be  justice  on  our  part 
to  all,  submitting  to  injustice  from  none. 
While  I  shall  sedulously  cultivate  the  relations 
of  peace  and  amity  with  one  and  all,  it  will  be 
my  most  imperative  duty  to  see  that  the  honor 
of  the  country  shall  sustain  no  blemish.  With 
a  view  to  this,  the  condition  of  our  military 
defenses  will  become  a  matter  of  anxious  solici- 
tude. The  Army,  which  has  in  other  days 
covered  itself  with  renown,  and  the  Navy,  not 
inappropriately  termed  the  right  arm  of  the 
public  defense,  which  has  spread  a  light  of 
glory  over  the  American  standard  in  all  the 
waters  of  the  earth,  should  be  rendered  replete 
with  efficiency. 

In  view  of  the  fact,  well  avouched  by  his- 
tory, that  the  tendency  of  all  human  institu- 
tions is  to  concentrate  power  in  the  hands  of 
a  single  man,  and  that  their  ultimate  downfall 
has  proceeded  from  this  cause,  I  deem  it  of 
the  most  essential  importance  that  a  complete 
separation  should  take  place  between  the  sword 
and  the  purse.  No  matter  where  or  how  the 
public  moneys  shall  be  deposited,  so  long  as 
the  President  can  exert  the  power  of  appoint- 
ing and  removing  at  his  pleasure  the  agents 
selected  for  their  custody  the  Commander  in 
Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  is  in  fact  the  treas- 
urer. A  permanent  and  radical  change  should 
therefore  be  decreed.  The  patronage  incident 
to  the  Presidential  office,  already  great,  is  con- 
stantly increasing.     Such  increase  is  destined 

i8i 


S^naugural  ^t^hvt^^t^ 


to  keep  pace  with  the  growth  of  our  popula- 
tion, until,  without  a  figure  of  speech,  an  army 
of  officeholders  may  be  spread  over  the  land. 
The  unrestrained  power  exerted  by  a  selfishly 
ambitious  man,  in  order  either  to  perpetuate 
his  authority  or  to  hand  it  over  to  some  favor- 
ite as  his  successor,  may  lead  to  the  employ- 
ment of  all  the  means  within  his  control  to 
accomphsh  his  object.  The  right  to  remove 
from  office,  while  subjected  to  no  just  restraint, 
is  inevitably  destined  to  produce  a  spirit  of 
crouching  servility  with  the  official  corps, 
which,  in  order  to  uphold  the  hand  which 
feeds  them,  would  lead  to  direct  and  active 
interference  in  the  elections,  both  State  and 
Federal,  thereby  subjecting  the  course  of  State 
legislation  to  the  dictation  of  the  chief  execu- 
tive officer  and  making  the  will  of  that  officer 
absolute  and  supreme.  I  will  at  a  proper  time 
invoke  the  action  of  Congress  upon  this  sub- 
ject, and  shall  readily  acquiesce  in  the  adoption 
of  all  proper  measures  which  are  calculated  to 
arrest  these  evils,  so  full  of  danger  in  their 
tendency.  I  will  remove  no  incumbent  from 
office  who  has  faithfully  and  honestly  acquitted 
himself  of  the  duties  of  his  office,  except  in 
such  cases  where  such  officer  has  been  guilty 
of  an  active  partisanship  or  by  secret  means — 
the  less  manly,  and  therefore  the  more  objec- 
tionable— has  given  his  official  influence  to  the 
45urposes  of  party,  thereby  bringing  the  patron- 
age of  the  Government  in  conffict  with   the 

182 


3^o{|n  Cpler 


freedom  of  elections.  Numerous  removals 
may  become  necessary  under  this  rule.  These 
will  be  made  by  me  through  no  acerbity  of 
feeling — I  have  had  no  cause  to  cherish  or 
indulge  unkind  feelings  toward  any — but  my 
conduct  will  be  regulated  by  a  profound  sense 
of  what  is  due  to  the  country  and  its  institu- 
tions; nor  shall  I  neglect  to  apply  the  same 
unbending  rule  to  those  of  my  own  appoint- 
ment. Freedom  of  opinion  will  be  tolerated, 
the  full  enjoyment  of  the  right  of  suffrage  will 
be  maintained  as  the  birthright  of  every  Ameri- 
can citizen;  but  I  say  emphatically  to  the 
official  corps,  "Thus  far  and  no  farther.'*  I 
have  dwelt  the  longer  upon  this  subject  because 
removals  from  office  are  likely  often  to  arise, 
and  I  would  have  my  countrymen  to  under- 
stand the  principle  of  the  Executive  action. 

In  all  public  expenditures  the  most  rigid 
economy  should  be  resorted  to,  and,  as  one 
of  its  results,  a  public  debt  in  time  of  peace 
be  sedulously  avoided.  A  wise  and  patriotic 
constituency  will  never  object  to  the  imposition 
of  necessary  burdens  for  useful  ends,  and  true 
wisdom  dictates  the  resort  to  such  means  in 
order  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  revenue, 
rather  than  to  those  doubtful  expedients  which, 
ultimating  in  a  public  debt,  serve  to  embarrass 
the  resources  of  the  country  and  to  lessen  its 
ability  to  meet  any  great  emergency  which 
may  arise.  All  sinecures  should  be  abolished. 
The  appropriations  should  be  direct  and  ex- 

183 


3^nausural  ^DDre^^c^ 


plicit,  so  as  to  leave  as  limited  a  share  of  dis- 
cretion to  the  disbursing  agents  as  may  be 
found  compatible  vvith  the  public  service.  A 
strict  responsibility  on  the  part  of  all  the 
agents  of  the  Government  should  be  main- 
tained, and  peculation  or  defalcation  visited 
with  immediate  expulsion  from  office  and  the 
most  condign  punishment. 

The  public  interest  also  demands  that  if  any 
war  has  existed  between  the  Government  and 
the  currency  it  shall  cease.  Measures  of  a 
financial  character  now  having  the  sanction  of 
legal  enactment  shall  be  faithfully  enforced 
until  repealed  by  the  legislative  authority. 
But  I  owe  it  to  myself  to  declare  that  I  regard 
existing  enactments  as  unwise  and  impolitic, 
and  in  a  high  degree  oppressive.  I  shall 
promptly  give  my  sanction  to  any  constitu- 
tional measure  which,  originating  in  Congress, 
shall  have  for  its  object  the  restoration  of  a 
sound  circulating  medium,  so  essentially  neces- 
sary to  give  confidence  in  all  the  transactions 
of  life,  to  secure  to  industry  its  just  and  ade- 
quate rewards,  and  to  re-establish  the  public 
prosperity.  In  deciding  upon  the  adaptation 
of  any  such  measure  to  the  end  proposed,  as 
well  as  its  conformity  to  the  Constitution,  I 
shall  resort  to  the  fathers  of  the  great  republi- 
can school  for  advice  and  instruction,  to  be 
drawn  from  their  sage  views  of  our  system  of 
government  and  the  light  of  their  ever-glori- 
ous example. 

184 


3^ofjn  €pler 


The  institutions  under  which  we  live,  my 
countrymen,  secure  each  person  in  the  perfect 
enjoyment  of  all  his  rights.  The  spectacle  is 
exhibited  to  the  world  of  a  government  deriv- 
ing its  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  gov- 
erned and  having  imparted  to  it  only  so  much 
power  as  is  necessary  for  its  successful  opera- 
tion- Those  who  are  charged  with  its  adminis- 
tration should  carefully  abstain  from  all 
attempts  to  enlarge  the  range  of  powers  thus 
granted  to  the  several  departments  of  the 
Government  other  than  by  an  appeal  to  the 
people  for  additional  grants,  lest  by  so  doing 
they  disturb  that  balance  which  the  patriots 
and  statesmen  who  framed  the  Constitution 
designed  to  establish  between  the  Federal 
Government  and  the  States  composing  the 
Union.  The  observance  of  these  rules  is  en- 
joined upon  us  by  that  feeling  of  reverence 
and  affection  which  finds  a  place  in  the  heart 
of  every  patriot  for  the  preservation  of  union 
and  the  blessings  of  union — for  the  good  of 
our  children  and  our  children's  children  through 
countless  generations.  An  opposite  course 
could  not  fail  to  generate  factions  intent  upon 
the  gratification  of  their  selfish  ends,  to  give 
birth  to  local  and  sectional  jealousies,  and  to 
ultimate  either  in  breaking  asunder  the  bonds 
of  union  or  in  building  up  a  central  system 
which  would  inevitably  end  in  a  bloody  scepter 
and  an  iron  crown. 

In  conclusion  I  beg  you  to  be  assured  that  I 

185 


5fnau0ural  ^tiDre^^c0 


shall  exert  myself  to  carry  the  foregoing  prin- 
ciples into  practice  during  my  administration 
of  the  Government,  and,  confiding  in  the  pro- 
tecting care  of  an  ever- watchful  and  overruling 
Providence,  it  shall  be  my  first  and  highest 
duty  to  preserve  unimpaired  the  free  institu- 
tions under  which  we  live  and  transmit  them 
to  those  who  shall  succeed  me  in  their  full 
force  and  vigor. 


i86 


giameji  1^*  pom 

INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


FELLOW-CITIZENS:  Without  solici- 
tation on  my  part,  I  have  been  chosen 
by  the  free  and  voluntary  suffrages  of 
my  countrymen  to  the  most  honorable  and 
most  responsible  office  on  earth.  I  am  deeply 
impressed  with  gratitude  for  the  confidence 
reposed  in  me.  Honored  with  this  distin- 
guished consideration  at  an  earlier  period  of 
life  than  any  of  my  predecessors,  I  cannot  dis- 
guise the  diffidence  with  which  I  am  about  to 
enter  on  the  discharge  of  my  official  duties. 

If  the  more  aged  and  experienced  men  who 
have  filled  the  office  of  President  of  the  United 
States  even  in  the  infancy  of  the  Republic 
distrusted  their  ability  to  discharge  the  duties 
of  that  exalted  station,  what  ought  not  to  be 
the  apprehensions  of  one  so  much  younger  and 
less  endowed  now  that  our  domain  extends 
from  ocean  to  ocean,  that  our  people  have  so 
greatly  increased  in  numbers,  and  at  a  time 
when  so  great  diversity  of  opinion  prevails  in 
regard  to  the  principles  and  policy  which 
should  characterize  the  administration  of  our 
Government?  Well  may  the  boldest  fear  and 
the  wisest  tremble  when  incurring  responsibili- 
ties on  which  mav  depend  our  country's  peace 

187 


S^naugutal  aDDre^^^e^ef 


and  prosperity,  and  in  some  degree  the  hopes 
and  happiness  of  the  whole  human  family. 

In  assuming  responsibilities  so  vast  I  fer- 
vently invoke  the  aid  of  that  Almighty  Ruler 
of  the  Universe  in  whose  hands  are  the  des- 
tinies of  nations  and  of  men  to  guard  this 
Heaven-favored  land  against  the  mischiefs 
which  without  His  guidance  might  arise  from 
an  unwise  public  policy.  With  a  firm  reliance 
upon  the  wisdom  of  Omnipotence  to  sustain 
and  direct  me  in  the  path  of  duty  which  I  am 
appointed  to  pursue,  I  stand  in  the  presence 
of  this  assembled  multitude  of  my  countrymen 
to  take  upon  myself  the  solemn  obhgation  '*to 
the  best  of  my  ability  to  preserve,  protect,  and 
defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

A  concise  enumeration  of  the  principles 
which  will  guide  me  in  the  administrative 
policy  of  the  Government  is  not  only  in  accord- 
ance with  the  examples  set  me  by  all  my  pre- 
decessors, but  is  eminently  befitting  the 
occasion. 

The  Constitution  itself,  plainly  written  as  it 
is,  the  safeguard  of  our  federative  compact, 
the  offspring  of  concession  and  compromise, 
binding  together  in  the  bonds  of  peace  and 
union  this  great  and  increasing  family  of  free 
and  independent  States,  will  be  the  chart  by 
which  I  shall  be  directed. 

It  will  be  my  first  care  to  administer  the 
Government  in  the  true  spirit  of  that  instru- 
ment, and  to  assume  no  powers  not  expressly 

i88 


S^ame^  ft.  ^olh 


granted  or  clearly  implied  in  its  terms.  The 
Government  of  the  United  States  is  one  of 
delegated  and  limited  powers,  and  it  is  by  a 
strict  adherence  to  the  clearly  granted  powers 
and  by  abstaining  from  the  exercise  of  doubt- 
ful or  unauthorized  implied  powers  that  we 
have  the  only  sure  guaranty  against  the  recur- 
rence of  those  unfortunate  collisions  between 
the  Federal  and  State  authorities  which  have 
occasionally  so  much  disturbed  the  harmony 
of  our  system  and  even  threatened  the  per- 
petuity of  our  glorious  Union. 

"To  the  States,  respectively,  or  to  the  peo- 
ple" have  been  reserved  "the  powers  not 
delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Consti- 
tution nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States." 
Each  State  is  a  complete  sovereignty  within 
the  sphere  of  its  reserved  powers.  The  Gov- 
ernment of  the  Union,  acting  within  the  sphere 
of  its  delegated  authority,  is  also  a  complete 
sovereignty.  While  the  General  Government 
should  abstain  from  the  exercise  of  authority 
not  clearly  delegated  to  it,  the  States  should 
be  equally  careful  that  in  the  maintenance  of 
their  rights  they  do  not  overstep  the  limits  of 
powers  reserved  to  them.  One  of  the  most 
distinguished  of  my  predecessors  attached 
deserved  importance  to  "the  support  of  the 
State  governments  in  all  their  rights,  as  the 
most  competent  administration  for  our  do- 
mestic concerns  and  the  surest  bulwark 
against    anti-republican   tendencies,"    and   to 

189 


S^naugural  atitirejef^eje? 


the  "preservation  of  the  General  Government 
in  its  whole  constitutional  vigor,  as  the  sheet 
anchor  of  our  peace  at  home  and  safety 
abroad." 

To  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
has  been  intrusted  the  exclusive  management 
of  our  foreign  affairs.  Beyond  that  it  wields 
a  few  general  enumerated  powers.  It  does 
not  force  reform  on  the  States.  It  leaves  in- 
dividuals, over  whom  it  casts  its  protecting 
influence,  entirely  free  to  improve  their  own 
condition  by  the  legitimate  exercise  of  all  their 
mental  and  physical  powers.  It  is  a  common 
protector  of  each  and  all  the  States;  of  every 
man  who  lives  upon  our  soil,  whether  of 
native  or  foreign  birth;  of  every  religious 
sect,  in  their  worship  of  the  Almighty  accord- 
ing to  the  dictates  of  their  own  conscience;  of 
every  shade  of  opinion,  and  the  most  free 
inquiry;  of  every  art,  trade,  and  occupation 
consistent  with  the  laws  of  the  States.  And 
we  rejoice  in  the  general  happiness,  prosperity, 
and  advancement  of  our  country,  which  have 
been  the  offspring  of  freedom,  and  not  of 
power. 

This  most  admirable  and  wisest  system  of 
well-regulated  self-government  among  men 
ever  devised  by  human  minds  has  been  tested 
by  its  successful  operation  for  more  than  half 
a  century,  and  if  preserved  from  the  usurpa- 
tions of  the  Federal  Government  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  exercise  by  the  States  of  powers 

190 


S^ame^  M.  f^olft 


not  reserved  to  them  on  the  other,  will,  I  fer- 
vently hope  and  believe,  endure  for  ages  to 
come  and  dispense  the  blessings  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty  to  distant  generations.  To 
effect  objects  so  dear  to  every  patriot  I  shall 
devote  myself  with  anxious  solicitude.  It  will 
be  my  desire  to  guard  against  that  most  fruitful 
source  of  danger  to  the  harmonious  action  of 
our  system  which  consists  in  substituting  the 
mere  discretion  and  caprice  of  the  Executive 
or  of  majorities  in  the  legislative  department 
of  the  Government  for  powers  which  have 
been  withheld  from  the  Federal  Government 
by  the  Constitution.  By  the  theory  of  our 
Government  majorities  rule,  but  this  right  is 
not  an  arbitrary  or  unlimited  one.  It  is  a 
right  to  be  exercised  in  subordination  to  the 
Constitution  and  in  conformity  to  it.  One 
great  object  of  the  Constitution  was  to  restrain 
majorities  from  oppressing  minorities  or  en- 
croaching upon  their  just  rights.  Minorities 
have  a  right  to  appeal  to  the  Constitution  as  a 
shield  against  such  oppression. 

That  the  blessings  of  liberty  which  our  Con- 
stitution secures  may  be  enjoyed  alike  by 
minorities  and  majorities,  the  Executive  has 
been  wisely  invested  with  a  qualified  veto 
upon  the  acts  of  the  Legislature.  It  is  a 
negative  power,  and  is  conservative  in  its 
character.  It  arrests  for  the  time  hasty,  in- 
considerate, or  unconstitutional  legislation, 
invites  reconsideration,  and  transfers  questions 

191 


S^naugural  9lDDre^^e^ 


at  issue  between  the  legislative  and  executive 
departments  to  the  tribunal  of  the  people. 
Like  all  other  powers,  it  is  subject  to  be 
abused.  When  judiciously  and  properly  ex- 
ercised, the  Constitution  itself  may  be  saved 
from  infraction  and  the  rights  of  all  preserved 
and  protected. 

The  inestimable  value  of  our  Federal  Union 
is  felt  and  acknowledged  by  all.  By  this  sys- 
tem of  united  and  confederated  States  our 
people  are  permitted  collectively  and  individu- 
ally to  seek  their  own  happiness  in  their  own 
way,  and  the  consequences  have  been  most 
auspicious.  Since  the  Union  was  formed  the 
number  of  the  States  has  increased  from  thir- 
teen to  twenty-eight;  two  of  these  have  taken 
their  position  as  members  of  the  Confederacy 
within  the  last  week.  Our  population  has  in- 
creased from  three  to  twenty  millions.  New 
communities  and  States  are  seeking  protection 
under  its  aegis,  and  multitudes  from  the  Old 
World  are  flocking  to  our  shores  to  participate 
in  its  blessings.  Beneath  its  benign  sway 
peace  and  prosperity  prevail.  Freed  from  the 
burdens  and  miseries  of  war,  our  trade  and 
intercourse  have  extended  throughout  the 
world.  Mind,  no  longer  tasked  in  devising 
means  to  accomplish  or  resist  schemes  of  am- 
bition, usurpation,  or  conquest,  is  devoting 
itself  to  man's  true  interests  in  developing  his 
faculties  and  powers  and  the  capacity  of  nature 
to  minister  to  his  enjoyments.  Genius  is  free 
192 


S^ame^  M.  ^olft 


to  announce  its  inventions  and  discoveries,  and 
the  hand  is  free  to  accomphsh  whatever  the 
head  conceives  not  incompatible  with  the  rights 
of  a  fellow-being.  All  distinctions  of  birth  or 
of  rank  have  been  abolished.  All  citizens, 
whether  native  or  adopted,  are  placed  upon 
terms  of  precise  equality.  All  are  entitled  to 
equal  rights  and  equal  protection.  No  union 
exists  between  church  and  state,  and  perfect 
freedom  of  opinion  is  guaranteed  to  all  sects 
and  creeds. 

These  are  some  of  the  blessings  secured  to 
our  happy  land  by  our  Federal  Union.  To 
perpetuate  them  it  is  our  sacred  duty  to  pre- 
serve it.  Who  shall  assign  limits  to  the 
achievements  of  free  minds  and  free  hands 
under  the  protection  of  this  glorious  Union.? 
No  treason  to  mankind  since  the  organization 
of  society  would  be  equal  in  atrocity  to  that 
of  him  who  would  lift  his  hand  to  destroy  it. 
He  would  overthrow  the  noblest  structure  of 
human  wisdom,  which  protects  himself  and  his 
fellow-man.  He  would  stop  the  progress  of 
free  government  and  involve  his  country  either 
in  anarchy  or  despotism.  He  would  extinguish 
the  fire  of  liberty,  which  warms  and  animates 
the  hearts  of  happy  millions  and  invites  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  to  imitate  our  example. 
If  he  say  that  error  and  wrong  are  committed 
in  the  administration  of  the  Government,  let 
him  remember  that  nothing  human  can  be  per- 
fect, and  that  under  no  other  system  of  gov- 

193 


5^nau5ural  atsDre^^^e^^ 


ernment  revealed  by  Heaven  or  devised  by  man 
has  reason  been  allowed  so  free  and  broad  a 
scope  to  combat  error.  Has  the  sword  of 
despots  proved  to  be  a  safer  or  surer  instru- 
ment of  reform  in  government  than  enlightened 
reason?  Does  he  expect  to  find  among  the 
ruins  of  this  Union  a  happier  abode  for  our 
swarming  millions  than  they  now  have  under 
it?  Every  lover  of  his  country  must  shudder 
at  the  thought  of  the  possibility  of  its  dissolu- 
tion, and  will  be  ready  to  adopt  the  patriotic 
sentiment,  **Our  Federal  Union — it  must  be 
preserved."  To  preserve  it  the  compromises 
which  alone  enabled  our  fathers  to  form  a 
common  constitution  for  the  government  and 
protection  of  so  many  States  and  distinct  com- 
munities, of  such  diversified  habits,  interests, 
and  domestic  institutions,  must  be  sacredly 
and  religiously  observed.  Any  attempt  to  dis- 
turb or  destroy  these  compromises,  being 
terms  of  the  compact  of  union,  can  lead  to 
none  other  than  the  most  ruinous  and  disas- 
trous consequences. 

It  is  a  source  of  deep  regret  that  in  some 
sections  of  our  country  misguided  persons 
have  occasionally  indulged  in  schemes  and 
agitations  whose  object  is  the  destruction  of 
domestic  institutions  existing  in  other  sections 
— institutions  which  existed  at  the  adoption  of 
the  Constitution  and  were  recognized  and  pro- 
tected by  it.  All  must  see  that  if  it  were 
possible  for  them  to  be  successful  in  attaining 

194 


5Fame^  M.  ^olft 


their  object  the  dissolution  of  the  Union  and 
the  consequent  destruction  of  our  happy  form 
of  government  must  speedily  follow. 

I  am  happy  to  beheve  that  at  every  period 
of  our  existence  as  a  nation  there  has  existed, 
and  continues  to  exist,  among  the  great  mass 
of  our  people  a  devotion  to  the  Union  of  the 
States  which  will  shield  and  protect  it  against 
the  moral  treason  of  any  who  would  seriously 
contemplate  its  destruction.  To  secure  a  con- 
tinuance of  that  devotion  the  compromises  of 
the  Constitution  must  not  only  be  preserved, 
but  sectional  jealousies  and  heartburnings  must 
be  discountenanced,  and  all  should  remember 
that  they  are  members  of  the  same  political 
family,  having  a  common  destiny.  To  increase 
the  attachment  of  our  people  to  the  Union, 
our  laws  should  be  just.  Any  policy  which 
shall  tend  to  favor  monopolies  or  the  peculiar 
interests  of  sections  or  classes  must  operate  to 
the  prejudice  of  the  interests  of  their  fellow- 
citizens,  and  should  be  avoided.  If  the  com- 
promises of  the  Constitution  be  preserved,  if 
sectional  jealousies  and  heartburnings  be  dis- 
countenanced, if  our  laws  be  just  and  the 
Government  be  practically  administered  strictly 
within  the  limits  of  power  prescribed  to  it,  we 
may  discard  all  apprehensions  for  the  safety 
of  the  Union. 

With  these  views  of  the  nature,  character, 
and  objects  of  the  Government  and  the  value 
of  the  Union,  I  shall  steadily  oppose  the  crea- 

195 


S^iiauffural  aDDre^^e^ 


tion  of  those  institutions  and  systems  which 
in  their  nature  tend  to  pervert  it  from  its  legiti- 
mate purposes  and  make  it  the  instrument  of 
sections,  classes,  and  individuals.  We  need 
no  national  banks  or  other  extraneous  institu- 
tions planted  around  the  Government  to  control 
or  strengthen  it  in  opposition  to  the  will  of  its 
authors.  Experience  has  taught  us  how  un- 
necessary they  are  as  auxiliaries  of  the  public 
authorities — how  impotent  for  the  good  and 
how  powerful  for  mischief. 

Ours  was  intended  to  be  a  plain  and  frugal 
government,  and  I  shall  regard  it  to  be  my 
duty  to  recommend  to  Congress  and,  as  far  as 
the  Executive  is  concerned,  to  enforce  by  all 
the  means  within  my  power  the  strictest  econ- 
omy in  the  expenditure  of  the  public  money 
which  may  be  compatible  with  the  public 
interests. 

A  national  debt  has  become  almost  an  insti- 
tution of  European  monarchies.  It  is  viewed 
in  some  of  them  as  an  essential  prop  to  exist- 
ing governments.  Melancholy  is  the  condition 
of  that  people  whose  government  can  be  sus- 
tained only  by  a  system  which  periodically 
transfers  large  amounts  from  the  labor  of  the 
many  to  the  coffers  of  the  few.  Such  a  sys- 
tem is  incompatible  with  the  ends  for  which 
our  republican  Government  was  instituted. 
Under  a  wise  policy  the  debts  contracted  in  our 
Revolution  and  during  the  War  of  1 8 12  have 
been    happily  extinguished.     By  a   judicious 

196 


^FameiB?  M.  5^oIft 


application  of  the  revenues  not  required  for 
other  necessary  purposes,  it  is  not  doubted 
that  the  debt  which  has  grown  out  of  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  last  few  years  may  be 
speedily  paid  off. 

I  congratulate  my  fellow-citizens  on  the 
entire  restoration  of  the  credit  of  the  General 
Government  of  the  Union  and  that  of  many  of 
the  States.  Happy  would  it  be  for  the  in- 
debted States  if  they  were  freed  from  their 
liabilities,  many  of  which  were  incautiously 
contracted.  Although  the  Government  of  the 
Union  is  neither  in  a  legal  nor  a  moral  sense 
bound  for  the  debts  of  the  States,  and  it  would 
be  a  violation  of  our  compact  of  union  to 
assume  them,  yet  we  cannot  but  feel  a  deep 
interest  in  seeing  all  the  States  meet  their 
public  habihties  and  pay  off  their  just  debts 
at  the  earliest  practicable  period.  That  they 
will  do  so  as  soon  as  it  can  be  done  without 
imposing  too  heavy  burdens  on  their  citizens 
there  is  no  reason  to  doubt.  The  sound  moral 
and  honorable  feeling  of  the  people  of  the  in- 
debted States  cannot  be  questioned,  and  we  are 
happy  to  perceive  a  settled  disposition  on  their 
part,  as  their  ability  returns  after  a  season  of 
unexampled  pecuniary  embarrassment,  to  pay 
off  all  just  demands  and  to  acquiesce  in  any 
reasonable  measures  to  accomplish  that  object. 

One  of  the  difficulties  which  we  have  had  to 
encounter  in  the  practical  administration  of  the 
Government  consists  in  the  adjustment  of  our 

197 


5^naugural  3lDtirc^^e^ 


revenue  laws  and  the  levy  of  the  taxes  neces- 
sary for  the  support  of  Government.  In  the 
general  proposition  that  no  more  money  shall 
be  collected  than  the  necessities  of  an  economi- 
cal administration  shall  require,  all  parties  seem 
to  acquiesce.  Nor  does  there  seem  to  be  any 
material  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  absence 
of  right  in  the  Government  to  tax  one  section 
of  country,  or  one  class  of  citizens,  or  one 
occupation,  for  the  mere  profit  of  another. 
* 'Justice  and  sound"  policy  forbid  the  Federal 
Government  to  foster  one  branch  of  industry 
to  the  detriment  of  another,  or  to  cherish  the 
interests  of  one  portion  to  the  injury  of  another 
portion  of  our  common  country."  I  have 
heretofore  declared  to  my  fellow-citizens  that 
*'in  my  judgment  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  extend,  as  far  as  it  may  be  practicable 
to  do  so,  by  its  revenue  laws  and  all  other 
means  within  its  power,  fair  and  just  protec- 
tion to  all  the  great  interests  of  the  whole 
Union,  embracing  agriculture,  manufactures, 
the  mechanic  arts,  commerce,  and  naviga- 
tion." I  have  also  declared  my  opinion  to  be 
"in  favor  of  a  tariff  for  revenue,"  and  that 
**in  adjusting  the  details  of  such  a  tariff  I  have 
sanctioned  such  moderate  discriminating  duties 
as  would  produce  the  amount  of  revenue 
needed  and  at  the  same  time  afford  reasonable 
incidental  protection  to  our  home  industr}^" 
and  that  I  was  **  opposed  to  a  tariff  for  pro- 
tection merely,  and  not  for  revenue." 

198 


garnet  M.  ^olft 


The  power  "to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties, 
imposts,  and  excises"  was  an  indispensable 
one  to  be  conferred  on  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, which  without  it  would  possess  no  means 
of  providing  for  its  own  support.  In  execut- 
ing this  power  by  levying  a  tariff  of  duties 
for  the  support  of  Government,  the  raising 
of  revenue  should  be  the  object  and  protec- 
tion the  incident.  To  reverse  this  principle 
and  make  protection  the  object  and  revenue 
the  incident  would  be  to  inflict  manifest 
injustice  upon  all  other  than  the  protected 
interests.  In  levying  duties  for  revenue  it  is 
doubtless  proper  to  make  such  discriminations 
within  the  revenue  principle  as  will  afford  inci- 
dental protection  to  our  home  interests. 
Within  the  revenue  limit  there  is  a  discretion 
to  discriminate;  beyond  that  limit  the  rightful 
exercise  of  the  power  is  not  conceded.  The 
incidental  protection  afforded  to  our  home 
interests  by  discriminations  within  the  revenue 
range  it  is  believed  will  be  ample.  In  making 
discriminations  all  our  home  interests  should 
as  far  as  practicable  be  equally  protected. 
The  largest  portion  of  our  people  are  agricul- 
turists. Others  are  employed  in  manufactures, 
commerce,  navigation,  and  the  mechanic  arts. 
They  are  all  engaged  in  their  respective  pur- 
suits, and  their  joint  labors  constitute  the 
national  or  home  industry.  To  tax  one 
branch  of  this  home  industry  for  the  benefit 
of  another  would  be  unjust.     No  one  of  these 

199 


S^naugucal  3lt>Dre^^ejef 


interests  can  rightfully  claim  an  advantage 
over  the  others,  or  to  be  enriched  by  impover- 
ishing the  others.  All  are  equally  entitled  to 
the  fostering  care  and  protection  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. In  exercising  a  sound  discretion  in 
levying  discriminating  duties  within  the  limit 
prescribed,  care  should  be  taken  that  it  be 
done  in  a  manner  not  to  benefit  the  wealthy 
few  at  the  expense  of  the  toiling  millions  by 
taxing  lowest  the  luxuries  of  life,  or  articles  of 
superior  quality  and  high  price,  which  can 
only  be  consumed  by  the  wealthy,  and  highest 
the  necessaries  of  life,  or  articles  of  coarse 
quahty  and  low  price,  which  the  poor  and 
great  mass  of  our  people  must  consume.  The 
burdens  of  government  should  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable be  distributed  justly  and  equally  among 
all  classes  of  our  population.  These  general 
views,  long  entertained  on  this  subject,  I  have 
deemed  it  proper  to  reiterate.  It  is  a  subject 
upon  which  conflicting  interests  of  sections 
and  occupations  are  supposed  to  exist,  and  a 
spirit  of  mutual  concession  and  compromise 
in  adjusting  its  details  should  be  cherished  by 
every  part  of  our  widespread  country  as  the 
only  means  of  preserving  harmony  and  a  cheer- 
ful acquiescence  of  all  in  the  operation  of  our 
revenue  laws.  Our  patriotic  citizens  in  every 
part  of  the  Union  will  readily  submit  to  the 
payment  of  such  taxes  as  shall  be  needed  for 
the  support  of  their  Government,  whether  in 
peace  or  in  war,  if  they  are  so  levied  as  to 

200 


'^amt$  M.  ^olft 


distribute  the  burdens  as  equally  as  possible 
among  them. 

The  Republic  of  Texas  has  made  known  her 
desire  to  come  into  our  Union,  to  form  a  part 
of  our  Confederacy  and  enjoy  with  us  the 
blessings  of  liberty  secured  and  guaranteed  by 
our  Constitution.  Texas  was  once  a  part  of 
our  country — was  unwisely  ceded  away  to  a 
foreign  power — is  now  independent,  and  pos- 
sesses an  undoubted  right  to  dispose  of  a  part 
or  the  whole  of  her  territory  and  to  merge  her 
sovereignty  as  a  separate  and  independent 
state  in  ours.  I  congratulate  my  country  that 
by  an  act  of  the  late  Congress  of  the  United 
States  the  assent  of  this  Government  has  been 
given  to  the  reunion,  and  it  only  remains  for 
the  two  countries  to  agree  upon  the  terms  to 
consummate  an  object  so  important  to  both. 

I  regard  the  question  of  annexation  as  be- 
longing exclusively  to  the  United  States  and 
Texas.  They  are  independent  powers  com- 
petent to  contract,  and  foreign  nations  have 
no  right  to  interfere  with  them  or  to  take 
exceptions  to  their  reunion.  Foreign  powers 
do  not  seem  to  appreciate  the  true  character 
of  our  Government.  Our  Union  is  a  con- 
federation of  independent  States,  whose  pohcy 
is  peace  with  each  other  and  all  the  world. 
To  enlarge  its  limits  is  to  extend  the  domin- 
ions of  peace  over  additional  territories  and 
increasing  millions.  The  world  has  nothing 
to  fear  from  military  ambition  in  our  Govern- 

201 


S^naugural  atiDre^^e^ 


ment.  While  the  Chief  Magistrate  and  the 
popular  branch  of  Congress  are  elected  for 
short  terms  by  the  suffrages  of  those  millions 
who  must  in  their  own  persons  bear  all  the 
burdens  and  miseries  of  war,  our  Government 
cannot  be  otherwise  than  pacific.  Foreign 
powers  should  therefore  look  on  the  annexa- 
tion of  Texas  to  the  United  States  not  as  the 
conquest  of  a  nation  seeking  to  extend  her 
dominions  by  arms  and  violence,  but  as  the 
peaceful  acquisition  of  a  territory  once  her 
own,  by  adding  another  member  to  our  con- 
federation, with  the  consent  of  that  member, 
thereby  diminishing  the  chances  of  war  and 
opening  to  them  new  and  ever-increasing 
markets  for  their  products. 

To  Texas  the  reunion  is  important,  because 
the  strong  protecting  arm  of  our  Government 
would  be  extended  over  her,  and  the  vast 
resources  of  her  fertile  soil  and  genial  climate 
would  be  speedily  developed,  v/hile  the  safety 
of  New  Orleans  and  of  our  whole  southwestern 
frontier  against  hostile  aggression,  as  well  as 
*the  interests  of  the  whole  Union,  would  be 
promoted  by  it. 

In  the  earlier  stages  of  our  national  exist- 
ence the  opinion  prevailed  with  some  that  our 
system  of  confederated  States  could  not  oper- 
ate successfully  over  an  extended  territory, 
and  serious  objections  have  at  different  times 
been  made  to  the  enlargement  of  our  boun- 
daries.   These  objections,  were  earnestly  urged 

202 


2Fame^  M.  ^^olfe 


when  we  acquired  Louisiana.  Experience  has 
shown  that  they  were  not  well  founded.  The 
title  of  numerous  Indian  tribes  to  vast  tracts 
of  country  has  been  extinguished;  new  States 
have  been  admitted  into  the  Union;  new  Ter- 
ritories have  been  created  and  our  jurisdiction 
and  laws  extended  over  them.  As  our  popu- 
lation has  expanded,  the  Union  has  been 
cemented  and  strengthened.  As  our  boundaries 
have  been  enlarged  and  our  agricultural  popu- 
lation has  been  spread  over  a  large  surface, 
our  federative  system  has  acquired  additional 
strength  and  security.  It  may  well  be  doubted 
whether  it  would  not  be  in  greater  danger  of 
overthrow  if  our  present  population  were  con- 
fined to  the  comparatively  narrow  limits  of  the 
original  thirteen  States  than  it  is  now  that 
they  are  sparsely  settled  over  a  more  expanded 
territory.  It  is  confidently  believed  that  our 
system  may  be  safely  extended  to  the  utmost 
bounds  of  our  territorial  limits,  and  that  as  it 
shall  be  extended  the  bonds  of  our  Union,  so 
far  from  being  weakened,  will  become  stronger. 
None  can  fail  to  see  the  danger  to  our 
safety  and  future  peace  if  Texas  remains  an 
independent  state  or  becomes  an  ally  or  de- 
pendency of  some  foreign  nation  more  power- 
ful than  herself.  Is  there  one  among  our 
citizens  who  would  not  prefer  perpetual  peace 
with  Texas  to  occasional  wars,  which  so  often 
occur  between  bordering  independent  nations? 
Is  there  one  who  would  not  prefer  free  inter- 

203 


S^nauffural  aDtire^je^e^ 


course  with  her  to  high  duties  on  all  our  prod- 
ucts and  manufactures  which  enter  her  ports 
or  cross  her  frontiers?  Is  there  one  who 
would  not  prefer  an  unrestricted  communica- 
tion with  her  citizens  to  the  frontier  obstruc- 
tions which  must  occur  if  she  remains  out  of 
the  Union?  Whatever  is  good  or  evil  in  the 
local  institutions  of  Texas  will  remain  her  own 
whether  annexed  to  the  United  States  or  not. 
None  of  the  present  States  will  be  responsible 
for  them  any  more  than  they  are  for  the  local 
institutions  of  each  other.  They  have  con- 
federated together  for  certain  specified  objects. 
Upon  the  same  principle  that  they  would  re- 
fuse to  form  a  perpetual  union  with  Texas 
because  of  her  local  institutions  our  forefathers 
would  have  been  prevented  from  forming  our 
present  Union.  Perceiving  no  valid  objection 
to  the  measure  and  many  reasons  for  its  adop- 
tion vitally  affecting  the  peace,  the  safety,  and 
the  prosperity  of  both  countries,  I  shall  on  the 
broad  principle  which  formed  the  basis  and 
produced  the  adoption  of  our  Constitution, 
and  not  in  any  narrow  spirit  of  sectional  policy, 
endeavor  by  all  constitutional,  honorable,  and 
appropriate  means  to  consummate  the  ex- 
pressed will  of  the  people  and  Government  of 
the  United  States  by  the  reannexation  of  Texas 
to  our  Union  at  the  earliest  practicable  period. 
Nor  will  it  become  in  a  less  degree  my  duty 
to  assert  and  maintain  by  all  constitutional 
means  the  right  of  the  United  States  to  that 

204 


S^ame^  M.  ^olk 


portion  of  our  territory  which  Hes  beyond  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  Our  title  to  the  country 
of  the  Oregon  is  "clear  and  unquestionable,'* 
and  already  are  our  people  preparing  to  perfect 
that  title  by  occupying  it  with  their  wives  and 
children.  But  eighty  years  ago  our  population 
was  confined  on  the  west  by  the  ridge  of  the 
Alleghanies.  Within  that  period — within  the 
lifetime,  I  might  say,  of  some  of  my  hearers 
— our  people,  increasing  to  many  millions, 
have  filled  the  eastern  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
adventurously  ascended  the  Missouri  to  its 
headsprings,  and  are  already  engaged  in  estab- 
lishing the  blessings  of  self-government  in 
valleys  of  which  the  rivers  flow  to  the  Pacific. 
The  world  beholds  the  peaceful  triumphs  of 
the  industry  of  our  emigrants.  To  us  belongs 
the  duty  of  protecting  them  adequately  where- 
ever  they  may  be  upon  our  soil.  The  juris- 
diction of  our  laws  and  the  benefits  of  our 
republican  institutions  should  be  extended  over 
them  in  the  distant  regions  which  they  have 
selected  for  their  homes.  The  increasing 
facilities  of  intercourse  will  easily  bring  the 
States,  of  which  the  formation  in  that  part  of 
our  territory  cannot  be  long  delayed,  within 
the  sphere  of  our  federative  Union.  In  the 
meantime  every  obligation  imposed  by  treaty 
or  conventional  stipulations  should  be  sacredly 
respected. 

In  the  management  of  our  foreign  relations 
it  will  be  my  aim  to  observe  a  careful  respect 

205 


S^naugural  ^DDre^^eie? 


for  the  rights  of  other  nations,  while  our  own 
will  be  the  subject  of  constant  watchfulness. 
Equal  and  exact  justice  should  characterize  all 
our  intercourse  with  foreign  countries.  All 
aUiances  having  a  tendency  to  jeopard  the 
welfare  and  honor  of  our  country  or  sacrifice 
any  one  of  the  national  interests  will  be  studi- 
ously avoided,  and  yet  no  opportunity  will  be 
lost  to  cultivate  a  favorable  understanding 
with  foreign  governments  by  which  our  navi- 
gation and  commerce  may  be  extended  and  the 
ample  products  of  our  fertile  soil,  as  well  as 
the  manufactures  of  our  skillful  artisans,  find 
a  ready  market  and  remunerating  prices  in 
foreign  countries. 

In  taking  "care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully 
executed,"  a  strict  performance  of  duty  will 
be  exacted  from  all  public  officers.  From 
those  officers,  especially,  who  are  charged 
with  the  collection  and  disbursement  of  the 
public  revenue  will  prompt  and  rigid  accounta- 
bility be  required.  Any  culpable  failure  or 
delay  on  their  part  to  account  for  the  moneys 
intrusted  to  them  at  the  times  and  in  the  man- 
ner required  by  law  will  in  every  instance 
terminate  the  official  connection  of  such  de- 
faulting officer  with  the  Government. 

Although  in  our  country  the  Chief  Magis- 
trate must  almost  of  necessity  be  chosen  by  a 
party  and  stand  pledged  to  its  principles  and 
measures,  yet  in  his  official  action  he  should 
not  be  the  President  of  a  part  only,  but  of  the 
206 


^^ame^  M.  ^olft 


whole  people  of  the  United  States.  While  he 
executes  the  laws  with  an  impartial  hand, 
shrinks  from  no  proper  responsibility,  and 
faithfully  carries  out  in  the  executive  depart- 
ment of  the  Government  the  principles  and 
policy  of  those  who  have  chosen  him,  he  should 
not  be  unmindful  that  our  fellow-citizens  who 
have  differed  with  him  in  opinion  are  entitled 
to  the  full  and  free  exercise  of  their  opinions 
and  judgments,  and  that  the  rights  of  all  are 
entitled  to  respect  and  regard. 

Confidently  relying  upon  the  aid  and  assist- 
ance of  the  co-ordinate  departments  of  the 
Government  in  conducting  our  public  affairs, 
I  enter  upon  the  discharge  of  the  high  duties 
which  have  been  assigned  me  by  the  people, 
again  humbly  supplicating  that  Divine  Being 
who  has  watched  over  and  protected  our  be- 
loved country  from  its  infancy  to  the  present 
hour  to  continue  His  gracious  benedictions 
upon  us,  that  we  may  continue  to  be  a  pros- 
perous and  happy  people. 

March  4,  1845. 


207 


INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


ELECTED  by  the  American  people  to 
the  highest  office  known  to  our  laws,  I 
appear  here  to  take  the  oath  prescribed 
by  the  Constitution,  and,  in  compliance  with  a 
time-honored  custom,  to  address  those  who 
are  now  assembled. 

The  confidence  and  respect  shown  by  my 
countrymen  in  calling  me  to  be  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  a  Republic  holding  a  high  rank 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth  have  inspired 
me  with  feelings  of  the  most  profound  grati- 
tude; but  when  I  reflect  that  the  acceptance 
of  the  office  which  their  partiahty  has  bestowed 
imposes  the  discharge  of  the  most  arduous 
duties  and  involves  the  weightiest  obligations, 
I  am  conscious  that  the  position  which  I  have 
been  called  to  fill,  though  sufficient  to  satisfy 
the  loftiest  ambition,  is  surrounded  by  fearful 
responsibilities.  Happily,  however,  in  the 
performance  of  my  new  duties  I  shall  not  be 
without  able  co-operation.  The  legislative 
and  judicial  branches  of  the  Government  pre- 
sent prominent  examples  of  distinguished  civil 
attainments  and  matured  experience,  and  it 
shall  be  my  endeavor  to  call  to  my  assistance  in 
the  Executive  Departments  individuals  whose 

209 


S^naugural  aititire^^e^ 


talents,  integrity,  and  purity  of  character  will 
furnish  ample  guaranties  for  the  faithful  and 
honorable  performance  of  the  trusts  to  be 
committed  to  their  charge.  With  such  aids 
and  an  honest  purpose  to  do  whatever  is  right, 
I  hope  to  execute  diligently,  impartially,  and 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  country  the  mani- 
fold duties  devolved  upon  me. 

In  the  discharge  of  these  duties  my  guide 
will  be  the  Constitution,  which  I  this  day 
swear  to  "preserve,  protect,  and  defend." 
For  the  interpretation  of  that  instrument  I 
shall  look  to  the  decisions  of  the  judicial  tribu- 
nals established  by  its  authority  and  to  the 
practice  of  the  Government  under  the  earlier 
Presidents,  who  had  so  large  a  share  in  its 
formation.  To  the  example  of  those  illustri- 
ous patriots  I  shall  always  defer  with  rever- 
ence, and  especially  to  his  example  who  was 
by  so  many  titles  **the  Father  of  his  Country." 

To  command  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the 
United  States;  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate,  to  make  treaties  and  to  appoint 
ambassadors  and  other  officers;  to  give  to 
Congress  information  of  the  state  of  the  Union 
and  recommend  such  measures  as  he  shall 
judge  to  be  necessary;  and  to  take  care  that 
the  laws  shall  be  faithfully  executed — these 
are  the  most  important  functions  intrusted  to 
the  President  by  the  Constitution,  and  it  may  be 
expected  that  I  shall  briefly  indicate  the  princi- 
ples which  will  control  me  in  their  execution. 

210 


Eacf)atp  €apl0r 


Chosen  by  the  body  of  the  people  under  the 
assurance  that  my  Administration  would  be 
devoted  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole  country, 
and  not  to  the  support  of  any  particular  sec- 
tion or  merely  local  interest,  I  this  day  renew 
the  declarations  I  have  heretofore  made  and 
proclaim  my  fixed  determination  to  maintain 
to  the  extent  of  my  ability  the  Government  in 
its  original  purity  and  to  adopt  as  the  basis  of 
my  public  policy  those  great  republican  doc- 
trines which  constitute  the  strength  of  our 
national  existence. 

In  reference  to  the  Army  and  Navy,  lately 
employed  with  so  much  distinction  on  active 
service,  care  shall  be  taken  to  insure  the  high- 
est condition  of  efficiency,  and  in  furtherance 
of  that  object  the  military  and  naval  schools, 
sustained  by  the  liberality  of  Congress,  shall 
receive  the  special  attention  of  the  Executive. 

As  American  freemen  we  cannot  but  sym- 
pathize in  all  efforts  to  extend  the  blessings  of 
civil  and  poHtical  liberty,  but  at  the  same  time 
we  are  warned  by  the  admonitions  of  history 
and  the  voice  of  our  own  beloved  Washington 
to  abstain  from  entangling  alliances  with  for- 
eign nations.  In  all  disputes  between  con- 
flicting governments  it  is  our  interest,  not  less 
than  our  duty,  to  remain  strictly  neutral,  while 
our  geographical  position,  the  genius  of  our 
institutions  and  our  people,  the  advancing 
spirit  of  civihzation,  and,  above  all,  the  dic- 
tates of  religion  direct  us  to  the  cultivation  of 

211 


3^naugural  ^nhttg$t$ 


peaceful  and  friendly  relations  with  all  other 
powers.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  no  interna- 
tional question  can  now  arise  which  a  govern- 
ment confident  in  its  own  strength  and  resolved 
to  protect  its  own  just  rights  may  not  settle 
by  wise  negotiation;  and  it  eminently  becomes 
a  government  like  our  own,  founded  on  the 
morality  and  intelligence  of  its  citizens  and 
upheld  by  their  affections,  to  exhaust  every 
resort  of  honorable  diplomacy  before  appeal- 
ing to  arms.  In  the  conduct  of  our  foreign 
relations  I  shall  conform  to  these  views,  as  I 
beheve  them  essential  to  the  best  interests  and 
the  true  honor  of  the  country. 

The  appointing  power  vested  in  the  Presi- 
dent imposes  delicate  and  onerous  duties.  So 
far  as  it  is  possible  to  be  informed,  I  shall 
make  honesty,  capacity,  and  fidelity  indispens- 
able prerequisites  to  the  bestowal  of  office, 
and  the  absence  of  either  of  these  qualities 
shall  be  deemed  sufficient  cause  for  removal. 

It  shall  be  my  study  to  recommend  such 
constitutional  measures  to  Congress  as  may  be 
necessary  and  proper  to  secure  encouragement 
and  protection  to  the  great  interests  of  agri- 
culture, commerce,  and  manufactures,  to  im- 
prove our  rivers  and  harbors,  to  provide  for 
the  speedy  extinguishment  of  the  public  debt, 
to  enforce  a  strict  accountabihty  on  the  part 
of  all  officers  of  the  Government  and  the 
utmost  economy  in  all  public  expenditures; 
but  it  is  for  the  wisdom  of  Congress  itself,  in 

212 


£acl)arp  €aplor 


which  all  legislative  powers  are  vested  by  the 
Constitution,  to  regulate  these  and  other  mat- 
ters of  domestic  policy.  I  shall  look  with 
confidence  to  the  enlightened  patriotism  of 
that  body  to  adopt  such  measures  of  concilia- 
tion as  may  harmonize  conflicting  interests  and 
tend  to  perpetuate  that  Union  which  should  be 
the  paramount  object  of  our  hopes  and  affec- 
tions. In  any  action  calculated  to  promote  an 
object  so  near  the  heart  of  every  one  who  truly 
loves  his  country  I  will  zealously  unite  with 
the  co-ordinate  branches  of  the  Government. 

In  conclusion  I  congratulate  you,  my  fellow- 
citizens,  upon  the  high  state  of  prosperity  to 
which  the  goodness  of  Divine  Providence  has 
conducted  our  common  country.  Let  us  in- 
voke a  continuance  of  the  same  protecting  care 
which  has  led  us  from  small  beginnings  to  the 
eminence  we  this  day  occupy,  and  let  us  seek 
to  deserve  that  continuance  by  prudence  and 
moderation  in  our  councils,  by  well-directed 
attempts  to  assuage  the  bitterness  which  too 
often  marks  unavoidable  differences  of  opin- 
ion, by  the  promulgation  and  practice  of  just 
and  liberal  principles,  and  by  an  enlarged 
patriotism,  which  shall  acknowledge  no  limits 
but  those  of  our  own  widespread  Republic. 

March  5,  1849. 


213 


f ranfelin  pitvct 

INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


MY  COUNTRYMEN:    It  is  a  relief  to 
feel  that  no   heart  but  my  own   can 
know  the  personal  regret  and  bitter 
sorrow  over   which  I  have    been  borne  to  a 
position   so   suitable   for   others   rather   than 
desirable  for  myself. 

The  circumstances  under  which  I  have  been 
called  for  a  limited  period  to  preside  over  the 
destinies  of  the  Republic  fill  me  with  a  pro- 
found sense  of  responsibility,  but  with  nothing 
Hke  shrinking  apprehension.  I  repair  to  the 
post  assigned  me  not  as  to  one  sought,  but  in 
obedience  to  the  unsolicited  expression  of  your 
will,  answerable  only  for  a  fearless,  faithful, 
and  diligent  exercise  of  my  best  powers.  I 
ought  to  be,  and  am,  truly  grateful  for  the 
rare  manifestation  of  the  nation's  confidence; 
but  this,  so  far  from  lightening  my  obligations, 
only  adds  to  their  weight.  You  have  sum- 
moned me  in  my  weakness;  you  must  sustain 
me  by  your  strength.  When  looking  for  the 
fulfillment  of  reasonable  requirements,  you 
will  not  be  unmindful  of  the  great  changes 
which  have  occurred,  even  within  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century,  and  the  consequent  aug- 
mentation and  complexity  of  duties  imposed 

215 


S^naugural  atiDrejtf^eie? 


in  the  administration  both  of  your  home  and 
foreign  affairs. 

Whether  the  elements  of  inherent  force  in 
the  RepubUc  have  kept  pace  with  its  unparal- 
leled progression  in  territory,  population,  and 
wealth  has  been  the  subject  of  earnest  thought 
and  discussion  on  both  sides  of  the  ocean. 
Less  than  sixty-four  years  ago  the  Father  of 
his  Country  made  "the"  then  "recent  acces- 
sion of  the  important  State  of  North  Carolina 
to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States"  one 
of  the  subjects  of  his  special  congratulation. 
At  that  moment,  however,  when  the  agitation 
consequent  upon  the  Revolutionary  struggle 
had  hardly  subsided,  when  we  were  just  emer- 
ging from  the  weakness  and  embarrassments  of 
the  Confederation,  there  was  an  evident  con- 
sciousness of  vigor  equal  to  the  great  mission 
so  wisely  and  bravely  fulfilled  by  our  fathers. 
It  was  not  a  presumptuous  assurance,  but  a 
calm  faith,  springing  from  a  clear  view  of  the 
sources  of  power  in  a  government  constituted 
like  ours.  It  is  no  paradox  to  say  that 
although  comparatively  weak  the  new-born 
nation  was  intrinsically  strong.  Inconsider- 
able in  population  and  apparent  resources,  it 
was  upheld  by  a  broad  and  intelligent  compre- 
hension of  rights  and  an  all-pervading  purpose 
to  maintain  them,  stronger  than  armaments. 
It  came  from  the  furnace  of  the  Revolution, 
tempered  to  the  necessities  of  the  times.  The 
thoughts  of  the  men  of  that  day  were  as  prac- 

216 


f  tanftlin  fierce 


tical  as  their  sentiments  were  patriotic.  They 
wasted  no  portion  of  their  energies  upon  idle 
and  delusive  speculations,  but  with  a  firm  and 
fearless  step  advanced  beyond  the  govern- 
mental landmarks  which  had  hitherto  circum- 
scribed the  limits  of  human  freedom  and 
planted  their  standard,  where  it  has  stood 
against  dangers  which  have  threatened  from 
abroad,  and  internal  agitation,  which  has  at 
times  fearfully  menaced  at  home.  They 
proved  themselves  equal  to  the  solution  of  the 
great  problem,  to  understand  which  their 
minds  had  been  illuminated  by  the  dawning 
lights  of  the  Revolution.  The  object  sought 
was  not  a  thing  dreamed  of;  it  was  a  thing 
realized.  They  had  exhibited  not  only  the 
power  to  achieve,  but,  what  all  history  affirms 
to  be  so  much  more  unusual,  the  capacity  to 
maintain.  The  oppressed  throughout  the 
world  from  that  day  to  the  present  have  turned 
their  eyes  hitherward,  not  to  find  those  lights 
extinguished  or  to  fear  lest  they  should  wane, 
but  to  be  constantly  cheered  by  their  steady 
and  increasing  radiance. 

In  this  our  country  has,  in  my  judgment, 
thus  far  fulfilled  its  highest  duty  to  suffering 
humanity.  It  has  spoken  and  will  continue  to 
speak  not  only  by  its  words,  but  by  its  acts, 
the  language  of  sympathy,  encouragement, 
and  hope  to  those  who  earnestly  listen  to  tones 
which  pronounce  for  the  largest  rational  lib- 
erty.    But  after  all,  the  most  animating  en- 

217 


S^naugural  aDbre^^e^ 


couragement  and  potent  appeal  for  freedom 
will  be  its  own  history — its  trials  and  its 
triumphs.  Pre-eminently,  the  power  of  our 
advocacy  reposes  in  our  example;  but  no  ex- 
ample, be  it  remembered,  can  be  powerful  for 
lasting  good,  whatever  apparent  advantages 
may  be  gained,  which  is  not  based  upon  eternal 
principles  of  right  and  justice.  Our  fathers 
decided  for  themselves,  both  upon  the  hour  to 
declare  and  the  hour  to  strike.  They  were 
their  own  judges  of  the  circumstances  under 
which  it  became  them  to  pledge  to  each  other 
"their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred 
honor"  for  the  acquisition  of  the  priceless 
inheritance  transmitted  to  us.  The  energy 
with  which  that  great  conflict  was  opened, 
and,  under  the  guidance  of  a  manifest  and 
beneficent  Providence,  the  uncomplaining  en- 
durance with  which  it  was  prosecuted  to  its 
consummation  were  only  surpassed  by  the  wis- 
dom and  patriotic  spirit  of  concession  which 
characterized  all  the  counsels  of  the  early 
fathers. 

One  of  the  most  impressive  evidences  of 
that  wisdom  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the 
actual  working  of  our  system  has  dispelled  a 
degree  of  solicitude  which  at  the  outset  dis- 
turbed bold  hearts  and  far-reaching  intellects. 
The  apprehension  of  dangers  from  extend- 
ed territory,  multiplied  States,  accumulated 
wealth,  and  augmented  population  has  proved 
to  be  unfounded.     The  stars  upon  your  ban- 

218 


iFranhlin  fierce 


ner  have  become  nearly  threefold  their  original 
number;  your  densely  populated  possessions 
skirt  the  shores  of  the  two  great  oceans;  and 
yet  this  vast  increase  of  people  and  territory 
has  not  only  shown  itself  compatible  with  the 
harmonious  action  of  the  States  and  Federal 
Government  in  their  respective  constitutional 
spheres,  but  has  afforded  an  additional  guar- 
anty of  the  strength  and  integrity  of  both. 

With  an  experience  thus  suggestive  and 
cheering,  the  policy  of  my  Administration  will 
not  be  controlled  by  any  timid  forebodings  of 
evil  from  expansion.  Indeed,  it  is  not  to  be 
disguised  that  our  attitude  as  a  nation  and  our 
position  on  the  globe  render  the  acquisition  of 
certain  possessions  not  within  our  jurisdiction 
eminently  important  for  our  protection,  if  not 
in  the  future  essential  for  the  preservation  of 
the  rights  of  commerce  and  the  peace  of  the 
world.  Should  they  be  obtained,  it  will  be 
through  no  grasping  spirit,  but  with  a  view  to 
obvious  national  interest  and  security,  and  in 
a  manner  entirely  consistent  with  the  strictest 
observance  of  national  faith.  We  have  noth- 
ing in  our  history  or  position  to  invite  aggres- 
sion; we  have  everything  to  beckon  us  to  the 
cultivation  of  relations  of  peace  and  amity 
with  all  nations.  Purposes,  therefore,  at  once 
just  and  pacific  will  be  significantly  marked  in 
the  conduct  of  our  foreign  affairs.  I  intend 
that  my  Administration  shall  leave  no  blot  upon 
our  fair  record,  and  trust  I  may  safely  give  the 

219 


S^naugural  atitire^^e0 


assurance  that  no  act  within  the  legitimate 
scope  of  my  constitutional  control  will  be  toler- 
ated on  the  part  of  any  portion  of  our  citizens 
which  cannot  challenge  a  ready  justification 
before  the  tribunal  of  the  civilized  world.  An 
Administration  would  be  unworthy  of  confi- 
dence at  home  or  respect  abroad  should  it 
cease  to  be  influenced  by  the  conviction  that 
no  apparent  advantage  can  be  purchased  at  a 
price  so  dear  as  that  of  national  wrong  or  dis- 
honor. It  is  not  your  privilege  as  a  nation  to 
speak  of  a  distant  past.  The  striking  incidents 
of  your  history,  replete  with  instruction  and 
furnishing  abundant  grounds  for  hopeful  con- 
fidence, are  comprised  in  a  period  compara- 
tively brief.  But  if  your  past  is  limited,  your 
future  is  boundless.  Its  obligations  throng 
the  unexplored  pathway  of  advancement,  and 
will  be  limitless  as  duration.  Hence  a  sound 
and  comprehensive  policy  should  embrace  not 
less  the  distant  future  than  the  urgent  present. 
The  great  objects  of  our  pursuit  as  a  people 
are  best  to  be  attained  by  peace,  and  are  en- 
tirely consistent  with  the  tranquillity  and 
interests  of  the  rest  of  mankind.  With  the 
neighboring  nations  upon  our  continent  we 
should  cultivate  kindly  and  fraternal  relations. 
We  can  desire  nothing  in  regard  to  them  so 
much  as  to  see  them  consolidate  their  strength 
and  pursue  the  paths  of  prosperity  and  happi- 
ness. If  in  the  course  of  their  growth  we 
should  open  new  channels  of  trade  and  create 

220 


f  ranfelin  fierce 


additional  facilities  for  friendly  intercourse, 
the  benefits  realized  will  be  equal  and  mutual. 
Of  the  complicated  European  systems  of 
national  polity  we  have  heretofore  been  inde- 
pendent. From  their  wars,  their  tumults,  and 
anxieties  we  have  been,  happily,  almost  entirely 
exempt.  Whilst  these  are  confined  to  the 
nations  which  gave  them  existence,  and  within 
their  legitimate  jurisdiction,  they  cannot  affect 
us  except  as  they  appeal  to  our  sympathies  in 
the  cause  of  human  freedom  and  universal 
advancement.  But  the  vast  interests  of  com- 
merce are  common  to  all  mankind,  and  the 
advantages  of  trade  and  international  inter- 
course must  always  present  a  noble  field  for 
the  moral  influence  of  a  great  people. 

With  these  views  firmly  and  honestly  carried 
out,  we  have  a  right  to  expect,  and  shall  under 
all  circumstances  require,  prompt  reciprocity. 
The  rights  which  belong  to  us  as  a  nation  are 
not  alone  to  be  regarded,  but  those  which  per- 
tain to  every  citizen  in  his  individual  capacity, 
at  home  and  abroad,  must  be  sacredly  main- 
tained. So  long  as  he  can  discern  every  star 
in  its  place  upon  that  ensign,  without  wealth 
to  purchase  for  him  preferment  or  title  to 
secure  for  him  place,  it  will  be  his  privilege, 
and  must  be  his  acknowledged  right,  to  stand 
unabashed  even  in  the  presence  of  princes  with 
a  proud  consciousness  that  he  is  himself  one 
of  a  nation  of  sovereigns  and  that  he  cannot 
in  legitimate  pursuit  wander  so  far  from  home 

221 


S^naugural  atitirejef^e^ 


that  the  agent  whom  he  shall  leave  behind  in 
the  place  which  I  now  occupy  will  not  see  that 
no  rude  hand  of  power  or  tyrannical  passion 
is  laid  upon  him  with  impunity.  He  must 
realize  that  upon  every  sea  and  on  every  soil 
where  our  enterprise  may  rightfully  seek  the 
protection  of  our  flag  American  citizenship  is 
an  inviolable  panoply  for  the  security  of 
American  rights.  And  in  this  connection  it 
can  hardly  be  necessary  to  reaffirm  a  principle 
which  should  now  be  regarded  as  fundamental. 
The  rights,  security,  and  repose  of  this  Con- 
federacy reject  the  idea  of  interference  or  colo- 
nization on  this  side  of  the  ocean  by  any  foreign 
power  beyond  present  jurisdiction  as  utterly 
inadmissible. 

The  opportunities  of  observation  furnished 
by  my  brief  experience  as  a  soldier  confirmed 
in  my  own  mind  the  opinion,  entertained  and 
acted  upon  by  others  from  the  formation  of 
the  Government,  that  the  maintenance  of  large 
standing  armies  in  our  country  would  be  not 
only  dangerous,  but  unnecessary.  They  also 
illustrated  the  importance — I  might  well  say 
the  absolute  necessity — of  the  military  science 
and  practical  skill  furnished  in  such  an  eminent 
degree  by  the  institution  which  has  made  your 
Army  what  it  is,  under  the  discipline  and  in- 
struction of  officers  not  more  distinguished  for 
their  solid  attainments,  gallantry,  and  devotion 
to  the  public  service  than  for  unobtrusive  bear- 
ing and  high  moral  tone.     The  Army  as  organ- 

222 


f  ranfelin  fierce 


ized  must  be  the  nucleus  around  which  in 
every  time  of  need  the  strength  of  your  mih- 
tary  power,  the  sure  bulwark  of  your  defense 
— a  national  militia — may  be  readily  formed 
into  a  well-disciplined  and  efficient  organiza- 
tion. And  the  skill  and  self-devotion  of  the 
Navy  assure  you  that  you  may  take  the  per- 
formance of  the  past  as  a  pledge  for  the  future, 
and  may  confidently  expect  that  the  flag  which 
has  waved  its  untarnished  folds  over  every  sea 
will  still  float  in  undiminished  honor.  But 
these,  like  many  other  subjects,  will  be  appro- 
priately brought  at  a  future  time  to  the 
attention  of  the  co-ordinate  branches  of  the 
Government,  to  which  I  shall  always  look  with 
profound  respect  and  with  trustful  confidence 
that  they  will  accord  to  me  the  aid  and  sup- 
port which  I  shall  so  much  need  and  which 
their  experience  and  wisdom  will  readily 
suggest. 

In  the  administration  of  domestic  affairs  you 
expect  a  devoted  integrity  in  the  public  service 
and  an  observance  of  rigid  economy  in  all 
departments,  so  marked  as  never  justly  to  be 
questioned.  If  this  reasonable  expectation  be 
not  realized,  I  frankly  confess  that  one  of  your 
leading  hopes  is  doomed  to  disappointment, 
and  that  my  efforts  in  a  very  important  par- 
ticular must  result  in  a  humiliating  failure. 
Offices  can  be  properly  regarded  only  in  the 
light  of  aids  for  the  accomplishment  of  these 
objects,  and  as  occupancy  can  confer  no  pre- 

223 


S^naugutal  atitire^^c^ 


rogative  nor  importunate  desire  for  preferment 
any  claim,  the  public  interest  imperatively 
demands  that  they  be  considered  with  sole 
reference  to  the  duties  to  be  performed. 
Good  citizens  may  well  claim  the  protection  of 
good  laws  and  the  benign  influence  of  good 
government,  but  a  claim  for  office  is  what  the 
people  of  a  republic  should  never  recognize. 
No  reasonable  man  of  any  party  will  expect 
the  Administration  to  be  so  regardless  of  its 
responsibility  and  of  the  obvious  elements  of 
success  as  to  retain  persons  known  to  be  under 
the  influence  of  political  hostihty  and  partisan 
prejudice  in  positions  which  will  require  not 
only  severe  labor,  but  cordial  co-operation. 
Having  no  implied  engagements  to  ratify,  no 
rewards  to  bestow,  no  resentments  to  remem- 
ber, and  no  personal  wishes  to  consult  in  selec- 
tions for  official  station,  I  shall  fulfill  this 
difficult  and  delicate  trust,  admitting  no 
motive  as  worthy  either  of  my  character  or 
position  which  does  not  contemplate  an  effi- 
cient discharge  of  duty  and  the  best  interests 
of  my  country.  I  acknowledge  my  obligations 
to  the  masses  of  my  countrymen,  and  to  them 
alone.  Higher  objects  than  personal  aggran- 
dizement gave  direction  and  energy  to  their 
exertions  in  the  late  canvass,  and  they  shall 
not  be  disappointed.  They  require  at  my 
hands  diligence,  integrity,  and  capacity  where- 
ever  there  are  duties  to  be  performed.  With- 
out these  qualities  in  their  public  servants, 

224 


f  ranftlxn  fierce 


more  stringent  laws  for  the  prevention  or 
punishment  of  fraud,  neghgence,  and  pecula- 
tion will  be  vain.  With  them  they  will  be 
unnecessary. 

But  these  are  not  the  only  points  to  which 
you  look  for  vigilant  watchfulness.  The  dan- 
gers of  a  concentration  of  all  power  in  the 
general  government  of  a  confederacy  so  vast 
as  ours  are  too  obvious  to  be  disregarded. 
You  have  a  right,  therefore,  to  expect  your 
agents  in  every  department  to  regard  strictly 
the  limits  imposed  upon  them  by  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States.  The  great  scheme 
of  our  constitutional  liberty  rests  upon  a  proper 
distribution  of  power  between  the  State  and 
Federal  authorities,  and  experience  has  shown 
that  the  harmony  and  happiness  of  our  people 
must  depend  upon  a  just  discrimination  be- 
tween the  separate  rights  and  responsibilities 
of  the  States  and  your  common  rights  and 
obligations  under  the  General  Government; 
and  here,  in  my  opinion,  are  the  considera- 
tions which  should  form  the  true  basis  of 
future  concord  in  regard  to  the  questions 
which  have  most  seriously  disturbed  public  tran- 
quillity. If  the  Federal  Government  will  confine 
itself  to  the  exercise  of  powers  clearly  granted 
by  the  Constitution,  it  can  hardly  happen  that 
its  action  upon  any  question  should  endanger 
the  institutions  of  the  States  or  interfere  with 
their  right  to  manage  matters  strictly  domestic 
according  to  the  will  of  their  own  people. 

22$ 


3^nau5ural  ^txt^tt^^t^ 


In  expressing  briefly  my  views  upon  an  im- 
portant subject  which  has  recently  agitated  the 
nation  to  almost  a  fearful  degree,  I  am  moved 
by  no  other  impulse  than  a  most  earnest  desire 
for  the  perpetuation  of  that  Union  which  has 
made  us  what  we  are,  showering  upon  us 
blessings  and  conferring  a  power  and  influence 
which  our  fathers  could  hardly  have  antici- 
pated, even  with  their  most  sanguine  hopes 
directed  to  a  far-off  future.  The  sentiments 
I  now  announce  were  not  unknown  before  the 
expression  of  the  voice  which  called  me  here. 
My  own  position  upon  this  subject  was  clear 
and  unequivocal,  upon  the  record  of  my  words 
and  my  acts,  and  it  is  only  recurred  to  at  this 
time  because  silence  migh^  perhaps  be  miscon- 
strued. With  the  Union  my  best  and  dearest 
earthly  hopes  are  entwined.  Without  it  what 
are  we  individually  or  collectively.'*  What 
becomes  of  the  noblest  field  ever  opened  for 
the  advancement  of  our  race  in  religion,  in 
government,  in  the  arts,  and  in  all  that  digni- 
fies and  adorns  mankind?  From  that  radiant 
constellation  which  both  illumines  our  own 
way  and  points  out  to  struggling  nations  their 
course,  let  but  a  single  star  be  lost,  and,  if 
there  be  not  utter  darkness,  the  luster  of  the 
whole  is  dimmed.  Do  my  countrymen  need 
any  assurance  that  such  a  catastrophe  is  not 
to  overtake  them  while  I  possess  the  power  to 
stay  it?  It  is  with  me  an  earnest  and  vital 
belief  that  as  the  Union  has  been  the  source. 


226 


f  ranftlin  fierce 


under  Providence,  of  our  prosperity  to  this 
time,  so  it  is  the  surest  pledge  of  a  continu- 
ance of  the  blessings  we  have  enjoyed,  and 
which  we  are  sacredly  bound  to  transmit  un- 
diminished to  our  children.  The  field  of  calm 
and  free  discussion  in  our  country  is  open,  and 
will  always  be  so,  but  never  has  been  and 
never  can  be  traversed  for  good  in  a  spirit  of 
sectionalism  and  uncharitableness.  The  found- 
ers of  the  Republic  dealt  with  things  as  they 
were  presented  to  them,  in  a  spirit  of  self- 
sacrificing  patriotism,  and,  as  time  has  proved, 
with  a  comprehensive  wisdom  which  it  will 
always  be  safe  for  us  to  consult.  Every 
measure  tending  to  strengthen  the  fraternal 
feelings  of  all  the  members  of  our  Union  has 
had  my  heartfelt  approbation.  To  every 
theory  of  society  or  government,  whether  the 
offspring  of  feverish  ambition  or  of  morbid  en- 
thusiasm, calculated  to  dissolve  the  bonds  of 
law  and  affection  which  unite  us,  I  shall  inter- 
pose a  ready  and  stern  resistance.  I  believe 
that  involuntary  servitude,  as  it  exists  in  differ- 
ent States  of  this  Confederacy,  is  recognized 
by  the  Constitution.  I  believe  that  it  stands 
like  any  other  admitted  right,  and  that  the 
States  where  it  exists  are  entitled  to  efficient 
remedies  to  enforce  the  constitutional  provi- 
sions. I  hold  that  the  laws  of  1850,  com- 
monly called  the  *' compromise  measures,"  are 
strictly  constitutional  and  to  be  unhesitatingly 
carried  into  effect.     I  believe  that  the  consti- 


227 


3^naugural  3ltitirei6?^ei^ 


tuted  authorities  of  this  Republic  are  bound 
to  regard  the  rights  of  the  South  in  this  respect 
as  they  would  view  any  other  legal  and  consti- 
tutional right,  and  that  the  laws  to  enforce 
them  should  be  respected  and  obeyed,  not  with 
a  reluctance  encouraged  by  abstract  opinions 
as  to  their  propriety  in  a  different  state  of 
society,  but  cheerfully  and  according  to  the 
decisions  of  the  tribunal  to  which  their  expo- 
sition belongs.  Such  have  been,  and  are,  my 
convictions,  and  upon  them  I  shall  act.  I 
fervently  hope  that  the  question  is  at  rest,  and 
that  no  sectional  or  ambitious  or  fanatical  ex- 
citement may  again  threaten  the  durability  of 
our  institutions  or  obscure  the  light  of  our 
prosperity. 

But  let  not  the  foundation  of  our  hope  rest 
upon  man's  wisdom.  It  will  not  be  sufficient 
that  sectional  prejudices  find  no  place  in  the 
public  deliberations.  It  will  not  be  sufficient 
that  the  rash  counsels  of  human  passion  are 
rejected.  It  must  be  felt  that  there  is  no 
national  security  but  in  the  nation's  humble, 
acknowledged  dependence  upon  God  and  His 
overruling  providence. 

We  have  been  carried  in  safety  through  a 
perilous  crisis.  Wise  counsels,  like  those 
which  gave  us  the  Constitution,  prevailed  to 
uphold  it.  Let  the  period  be  remembered  as 
an  admonition,  and  not  as  an  encouragement, 
in  any  section  of  the  Union,  to  make  experi- 
ments where  experiments  are  fraught  with  such 

228 


franfelin  fierce 


fearful  hazard.  Let  it  be  impressed  upon  all 
hearts  that,  beautiful  as  our  fabric  is,  no 
earthly  power  or  wisdom  could  ever  reunite 
its  broken  fragments.  Standing,  as  I  do, 
almost  within  view  of  the  green  slopes  of 
Monticello,  and,  as  it  were,  within  reach  of 
the  tomb  of  Washington,  with  all  the  cherished 
memories  of  the  past  gathering  around  me  Hke 
so  many  eloquent  voices  of  exhortation  from 
heaven,  I  can  express  no  better  hope  for  my 
country  than  that  the  kind  Providence  which 
smiled  upon  our  fathers  may  enable  their  chil- 
dren to  preserve  the  blessings  they  have 
inherited. 

March  4,  1853. 


229 


9IamciS  TBuci^anan 

INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


FELLOW-CITIZENS:  I  appear  before 
you  this  day  to  take  the  solemn  oath 
"that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the  office 
of  President  of  the  United  States  and  will 
to  the  best  of  my  ability  preserve,  protect, 
and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States." 

In  entering  upon  this  great  office,  I  must 
humbly  invoke  the  God  of  our  fathers  for  wis- 
dom and  firmness  to  execute  its  high  and  re- 
sponsible duties  in  such  ajnanner  as  to  restore 
harmony  and  ancient  friencIsMp"  among  the 
people  of  the  several  States,  and  to  preserve 
our  free  institutions  throughout  many  genera- 
tionSc.  Convinced  that  I  owe  my  election  to 
the  inherent  love  for  the  Constitution  and  the 
Union  which  still  animates  the  hearts  of  the 
American  people,  let  me  earnestly  ask  their 
powerful  support  in  sustaining  all  just  meas- 
ures calculated  to  perpetuate  these,  the  richest 
political  blessings  which  Heaven  has  ever  be- 
stowed upon  any  nation.  Having  determined 
not  to  become  a  candidate  for  re-election,  I 
shall  have  no  motive  to  influence  my  conduct 
in  administering  the  Government  except  the 
desire  ably  and  faithfully  to  serve   my  country 

231 


S^naugural  9lDtire^^0i6f 


i 


and  to  live  in  the  grateful  memory  of  my 
countrymen. 

We  have  recently  passed  through  a  Presi- 
dential contest  in  which  the  passions  of  our 
fellow-citizens  were  excited  to  the  highest 
^  degree  by  questions  of  deep  and  vital  impor- 
.  tance;  but  when  the  people  proclaimed  their 
1  will  the  tempest  at  once  subsided  and  all  was 
\calm. 

The  voice  of  the  majority,  speaking  in  the 
manner  prescribed  by  the  Constitution,  was 
heard,  and  instant  submission  followed.  Our 
own  country  could  alone  have  exhibited  so 
grand  and  striking  a  spectacle  of  the  capacity 
of  man  for  self-government. 

What  a  happy  conception,  then,  was  it  for 
Congress  to  apply  this  simple  rule,  that  the 
will  of  the  majority  shall  govern,  to  the  settle- 
ment of  the  question  of  domestic  slavery  in  the 
Territories!  Congress  is  neither  "to  legislate 
slavery  into  any  Territory  or  State  nor  to  ex- 
clude it  therefrom,  but  to  leave  the  people 
thereof  perfectly  free  to  form  and  regulate 
their  domestic  institutions  in  their  own  way, 
subject  only  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States." 

As  a  natural  consequence.  Congress  has  also 
prescribed  that  when  the  Territory  of  Kansas 
shall  be  admitted  as  a  State,  it  "shall  be  re- 
ceived into  the  Union  with  or  without  slavery, 
as  their  constitution  may  prescribe  at  the  time 
of  their  admission." 


232 


3Fame^  25ucl)anan 


A  difference  of  opinion  has  arisen  in  regard 
to  the  point  of  time  when  the  people  of  a  Ter- 
ritory shall  decide  this  question  for  themselves. 

This  is,  happily,  a  matter  of  but  little  prac- 
tical importance.  Besides,  it  is  a  judicial  ques- 
tion, which  legitimately  belongs  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  before  whom  it  is 
now  pending,  and  will,  it  is  understood,  be 
speedily  and  finally  settled.  To  their  decision, 
in  common  with  all  good  citizens,  I  shall  cheer- 
fully submit,  whatever  this  may  be,  though  it 
has  ever  been  my  individual  opinion  that  under 
the  Nebraska-Kansas  act  the  appropriate  period 
will  be  when  the  number  of  actual  residents  in 
the  Territory  shall  justify  the  formation  of  a 
constitution  with  a  view  to  its  admission  as  a 
State  into  the  Union.  But  be  this  as  it  may, 
it  is  the  imperative  and  indispensable  duty  of 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  secure 
to  every  resident  inhabitant  the  free  and  inde- 
pendent expression  of  his  opinion  by  his  vote. 
This  sacred  right  of  each  individual  must  be 
preserved.  That  being  accomplished,  nothing 
can  be  fairer  than  to  leave  the  people  of  a  Ter- 
ritory free  from  all  foreign  interference  to 
decide  their  own  destiny  for  themselves,  sub- 
ject only  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States. 

The  whole  Territorial  question  being  thus 
settled  upon  the  principle  of  popular_so.v- 
erei^nty^ra  prinriple  as-anetcnt  a^frce  gov-em- 
ment  itself^— everything  of  a  practical  nature 

233 


S^naugural  ^httt^^t^ 


f  has  been  decided.  No  other  question  remains 
\  for  adjustment,  because  all  agree  that  under 
I  the  Constitution  slavery  in  the  States  is  beyond 
/  the  reach  of  any  human  power  except  that  of 
;.  the  respective  States  themselves  wherein  it 
^exists.  May  we  not,  then,  hope  that  the  long 
agitation  on  the  subject  is  approaching  its  end, 
and  that  the  ^eojjaphical -parties  to  which  it 
has  given  birth,  so  much  dreaded  by  the  Father 
of  his  Country,  . will  speedily  become  extinct? 
Most  happy  will  it  be  for  the  country  wH'en  the 
public  mind  shall  be  diverted  from  this  ques- 
tion to  others  of  more  pressing  and  practical 
importance.  Throughout  the  whole  progress 
of  this  agitation,  which  has  scarcely  known 
any  intermission  for  more  than  twenty  years, 
whilst  it  has  been  productive  of  no  positive 
good  to  any  human  being  it  has  been  the  pro- 
lific source  of  great  evils  to  the  master,  to  the 
slave,  and  to  the  whole  country.  It  has  alien- 
ated and  estranged  the  people  of  the  sister 
States  from  each  other,  and  has  even  seriously 
endangered  the  very  existence  of  the  Union. 
Nor  has  the  danger  yet  entirely  ceased.  Under 
our  system  there  is  a  remedy  for  all  mere 
pohtical  evils  in  the  sound  sense  and  sober 
judgment  of  the  people.  Time  is  a  great  cor- 
rective. Political  subjects  which  but  a  few 
years  ago  excited  and  exasperated  the  public 
mind  have  passed  away  and  are  now  nearly 
forgotten.  But  this  question  of  domestic  slav- 
ery is  of  far  graver  importance  than  any  mere 

234 


S^ame^  25ucl^anan 


political  question,  because  should  the  agitation 
continue  it  may  eventually  endanger  the  per- 
sonal safety  of  a  large  portion  of  our  country- 
men where  the  institution  exists.  In  that  event 
no  form  of  government,  however  admirable 
in  itself  and  however  productive  of  material 
benefits,  can  compensate  for  the  loss  of  peace 
and  domestic  security  around  the  family  altar. 
Let  every  Union-loving  man,  therefore,  exert 
his  best  influence  to  suppress  this  agitation, 
which  since  the  recent  legislation  of  Congress 
is  without  any  legitimate  object. 

Jt_.LS  an  pvil  omen  of  the  timoo  that  men 
have  undertaken  to.  cakulatc  the  mere  laaterial 
value  of  the_IInion.  Reasoned  estimates  have 
been  presented  of  the  pecuniary  profits  and 
local  advantages  which  would  result  to  differ- 
ent States  and  sections  from  its  dissolution,  and 
of  the  comparative  injuries  which  such  an 
event  would  inflict  on  other  States  and  sec- 
tions. Even  descending  to  this  low  and  nar- 
row view  of  the  mighty  question,  all  such 
calculations  are  at  fault.  The  bare  reference 
to  a  single  consideration  will  be  conclusive  on 
this  point.  We  at  present  enjoy  a  free  trade 
throughout  our  extensive  and  expanding  coun- 
try such  as  the  world  has  never  witnessed. 
This  trade  is  conducted  on  railroads  and  canals, 
on  noble  rivers  and  arms  of  the  sea,  which 
bind  together  the  North  and  the  South,  the 
East  and  the  West,  of  our  Confederacy. 
Annihilate  this  trade,  arrest  its  free  progress 

235 


S^naugural  atiDre^ie?ei6f 


by  the  geographical  lines  of  jealous  and  hos- 
tile States,  and  you  destroy  the  prosperity  and 
onward  march  of  the  whole  and  every  part 
and  involve  all  in  one  common  ruin.  But  such 
considerations,  important  as  they  are  in  them- 
selves, sink  into  insignificance  when  we  reflect 
on  the  terrific  evils  which  would  result  from 
disunion  to  every  portion  of  the  Confederacy 
— to  the  North  not  more  than  to  the  South,  to 
the  East  not  more  than  to  the  West.  These 
I  shall  not  attempt  to  portray,  because  I  feel 
an  humble  confidence  that  the  kind  Providence 
which  inspired  our  fathers  with  wisdom  to 
frame  the  most  perfect  form,  of  government 
and  union  ever  devised  by  man  will  not  suffer 
it  to  perish  until  it  shall  have  been  peacefully 
instrumental  by  its  example  in  tHe  extension 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty  throughout  the 
world. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
Constitution  and  the  Union  is  the  duty  of 
preserving  the  Government  fr_ee_from  the,  taint 
or  even  the^  suspicion  of  carruption.  Public 
virtue  isltTie  vital  spirit  of  republics,  and  his- 
tory proves  that  when  this  has  decayed  and  the 
love  of  money  has  usurped  its  place,  although 
the  forms  of  free  government  may  remain  for 
a  season,  the  substance  has  departed  forever. 

Our  present  financial  condition  is  without  a 
parallel  in  history.  No  nation  has  ever  before 
been  embarrassed  from  too  large  a  surplus  in 
its   treasury.     This   almost    necessarily  gives 

236 


^Tame^  2Bucf)anan 


birth  to  extravagant  legislation.  It  produces 
wild  schemes  of  expenditure  and  begets  a  race 
of  speculators  and  jobbers,  whose  ingenuity  is 
exerted  in  contriving  and  promoting  expedi- 
ents to  obtain  public  money.  The  purity  of 
official  agents,  whether  rightfully  or  wrong- 
fully, is  suspected,  and  the  character  of  the 
government  suffers  in  the  estimation  of  the 
people.     This  is  in  itself  a  very  great  evil. 

The  natural  mode  of  relief  from  this  embar- 
rassment is  to  appropriate  the  surplus  in  the 
Treasury  to  great  national  objects  for  which  a 
cleaf  warrant  can  be  found  in  the  Constitution. 
Among  these  I  might  mention  the.  extinguish- 
ment of  tVip  pnhlir  Hphtj  a  rp^sonqblp  inrrense 
of  the  navy,  which  is  at  present  inadequate -to — 
tlie  protection  of  qux  vast,  tonnage  afloat^  now, 
greater  than  that  of  any  other  nation,  as  well 
as  to  the  defense  of  our  extended  seacoast. 

It  is  beyond  all  question  the  true  principle 
that  no  more  revenue  ought  to  be  collected 
from  thepeople  than  the  amount  necessary  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  a  wise,  economical,  and 
efficient  administration  of  the  Government. 
To  reach  this  point  it  was  necessary  to  resort 
to  a  modification  of-  the  tim££,  and  this  has,  I 
trust,  been  accomplished  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  do  as  little  injury  as  may  have  been  prac- 
ticable to  our  domestic  manufactures,  espe- 
cially those  necessary  for  the  defense  of  the 
country.  Any  discrimination  against  a  par- 
ticular branch  for  the  purpose  of  benefitting 

237 


S^naugural  ^tihtt^^t^ 


favored  corporations,  individuals,  or  interests 
would  have  been  unjust  to  the  rest  of  the 
community  and  inconsistent  with  that  spirit 
of  fairness  and  equality  which  ought  to  govern 
in  the  adjustment  of  a  revenue  tariff. 

But  the  squandering  of  the  public  money 
sinks  into  comparative  insignificance  as  a 
temptation  to  corruption  when  compared  with 
the  squandering  of  the^ubiin  lands . 

No  nation  in  the  tide  of  time  has  ever  been 
blessed  with  so  rich  and  noble  an  inheritance 
as  we  enjoy  in  the  public  lands.  In  adminis- 
tering this  important  trust,  whilst  it  may  be 
wise  to  grant  portions  of  them  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  remainder,  yet  we  should  never 
forget  that  it  is  our  cardinal  policy  to  reserve 
these  lands,  as  much  as  may  be,  for  actual 
settlers^.and-  this— at_  moderate  prices.  We 
shall  thus  not  only  best  promote  the  prosper- 
ity of  the  new  States  and  Territories,  by  fur- 
nishing them  a  hardy  and  independent  race  of 
honest  and  industrious  citizens,  but  shall  se- 
cure homes  for  our  children  and  our  children's 
children,  as  well  as  for  those  exiles  from  for- 
eign shores  who  may  seek  in  this  country  to 
improve  their  condition  and  to  enjoy  the  bless- 
ings of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  Such  emi- 
grants have  done  much  to  promote  the  growth 
and  prosperity  of  the  country.  They  have 
proved  faithful  both  in  peace  and  in  war. 
After  becoming  citizens  they  are  entitled, 
under  the  Constitution  and  laws,  to  be  placed 

238 


^amt0  25ucf)anan 


on  a  perfect  equality  with  native-born  citizens, 
and  in  this  character  they  should  ever  be 
kindly  recognized. 

The  Federal  Constitution  is  a  grant  from 
the  States  to  Congress  of  certain  specific 
powers,  and  the  question  whether  this  grant 
should  be  liberally  or  strictly  construed  has 
more  or  less  divided  political  parties  from  the 
beginning.  Without  entering  into  the  argu- 
ment, I  desire  to  state  at  the  commencement 
of  my  Administration  that  long  experience  and 
observation  have  convinced  me  that  a  strict 
construction  of  the  powers  of  the  Government 
is  the  only  true,  as  well  as  the  only  safe, 
theory  of  the  Constitution.  Whenever  in  our 
past  history  doubtful  powers  have  been  exer- 
cised by  Congress,  these  have  never  failed  to 
produce  injurious  and  unhappy  consequences. 
Many  such  instances  might  be  adduced  if  this 
were  the  proper  occasion.  Neither  is  it  neces- 
sary for  the  public  service  to  strain  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Constitution,  because  all  the  great 
and  useful  powers  required  for  a  successful 
administration  of  the  Government,  both  in 
peace  and  in  war,  have  been  granted,  either 
in  express  terms  or  by  the  plainest  impHcation. 

Whilst  deeply  convinced  of  these  truths,  I 
yet  consider  it  clear  that  under  the  war-mak- 
ing power  Congress  may  appropriate  money 
toward  the  construction  of  a  military  road 
when  this  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  de- 
fense of  any  State  or  Territory  of  the  Union 

239 


S^naugural  aiDtire^^e^ 


against  foreign  invasion.  Under  the  Constitu- 
tion Congress  has  power  "to  declare  war," 
"to  raise  and  support  armies,"  "to  provide 
and  maintain  a  navy,"  and  to  call  forth  the 
militia  to  "repel  invasions."  Thus  endowed, 
in  an  ample  manner,  with  the  war-making 
power,  the  corresponding  duty  is  required 
that  "the  United  States  shall  protect  each  of 
them  [the  States]  against  invasion."  Now, 
how  is  it  possible  to  afford  this  protection  to 
California  and  our  Pacific  possessions  except 
by  means  of  a  military  road  through  the  Ter- 
ritories of  the  United  States,  over  which  men 
and  munitions  of  war  may  be  speedily  trans- 
ported from  the  Atlantic  States  to  meet  and 
to  repel  the  invader.?  In  the  event  of  a  war 
with  a  naval  power  much  stronger  than  our 
own  we  should  then  have  no  other  available 
access  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  because  such  a 
power  would  instantly  close  the  route  across 
the  isthmus  of  Central  America.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  conceive  that  whilst  the  Constitution 
has  expressly  required  Congress  to  defend  all 
the  States  it  should  yet  deny  to  them,  by  any 
fair  construction,  the  only  possible  means  by 
which  one  of  these  States  can  be  defended. 
Besides,  the  Government,  ever  since  its  origin, 
has  been  in  the  constant  practice  of  construct- 
ing military  roads.  It  might  also  be  wise  to 
consider  whether  the  love  for  the  Union  which 
now  animates  our  fellow-citizens  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  may  not  be  impaired  by  our  neglect  or 
240 


3^ame^  25ucl)anan 


refusal  to  provide  for  them,  in  their  remote 
and  isolated  condition,  the  only  means  by 
which  the  power  of  the  States  on  this  side  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  can  reach  them  in 
sufficient  time  to  * 'protect"  them  "against 
invasion."  I  forbear  for  the  present  from 
expressing  an  opinion  as  to  the  wisest  and 
most  economical  mode  in  which  the  Govern- 
ment can  lend  its  aid  in  accomplishing  this 
great  and  necessary  work.  I  believe  that 
many  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way,  which  now 
appear  formidable,  will  in  a  great  degree  van- 
ish as  soon  as  the  nearest  and  best  route  shall 
have  been  satisfactorily  ascertained. 

It  may  be  proper  that  on  this  occasion  I 
should  make  some  brief  remarks  in  regard  to 
our  rights  and  duties  as  a  member  of  the  great 
family  of  nations.  In  our  intercourse  with 
them  there  are  some  plain  principles,  approved 
by  our  own  experience,  from  which  we  should 
never  depart.  We  ought  to  cultivate  peace, 
commerce,  and  frierrdshTp  with  all  nations,  and 
this  not  merely  as  the  best  means  of  promot- 
ing our  own  material  interests,  but  in  a  spirit 
of  Christian  benevolence  toward  our  fellow- 
men,  wherever  their  lot  may  be  cast.  Our 
diplomacy  should  be  direct  and  frank,  neither 
seeking  to  obtain  more  nor  accepting  less  than 
is  our  due.  We  ought  to  cherish  a  sacred 
regard  for  the  independence  of  all  nations,  and 
never  attempt  to  interfere  in  the  domestic  con- 
cerns of  any  unless  this  shall  be  imperatively 

241 


3^naugural  atiDre^^e^ 


required  by  the  great  law  of  self-preservation. 
To  avoid  entangling  alliances  has  been  a 
maxim  of  our  policy  ever  since  the  days  of 
Washington,  and  its  wisdom  no  one  will 
attempt  to  dispute.  In  short,  we  ought  to  do 
justice  in  a  kindly  spirit  to  all  nations  and 
require  justice  from  them  in  return. 

It  is  our  glory  that  whilst  other  nations  have 
extended  their  dominions  by  the  sword  we 
have  never  acquired  any  territory  except  by 
fair  purchase  or,  as  in  the  case  of  Texas,  by 
the  voluntary  determination  of  a  brave,  kin- 
dred, and  independent  people  to  blend  their 
destinies  with  our  own.  Even  our  acquisi- 
tions from  Mexico  form  no  exception.  Un- 
willing to  take  advantage  of  the  fortune  of 
war  against  a  sister  republic,  we  purchased 
these  possessions  under  the  treaty  of  peace 
for  a  sum  which  was  considered  at  the  time  a 
fair  equivalent.  Our  past  history  forbids  that 
we  shall  in  the  future  acquire  territory  unless 
this  be  sanctioned  by  the  laws  of  justice  and 
honor.  Acting  on  this  principle,  no  nation 
will  have  a  right  to  interfere  or  to  complain  if 
in  the  progress  of  events  we  shall  still  further 
extend  our  possessions.  Hitherto  in  all  our 
acquisitions  the  people,  under  the  protection 
of  the  American  flag,  have  enjoyed  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  as  well  as  equal  and  just 
laws,  and  have  been  contented,  prosperous, 
and  happy.  Their  trade  with  the  rest  of  the 
world  has  rapidly  increased,  and  thus  every 

242 


S^ame^  25ucl)anan 


commercial  nation  has  shared  largely  in  their 
successful  progress. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  take  the  oath  pre- 
scribed by  the  Constitution,  whilst  humbly  in- 
voking the  blessing  of  Divine  Providence  on 
this  great  people. 

March  4,  1857. 


243 


abral^am  Kncoln 

FIRST  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


Fellow-Citizens  of  the  United  States: 

IN  compliance  with  a  custom  as  old  as  the 
Government  itself,  I  appear  before  you  to 
address  you  briefly  and  to  take  in  your 
presence  the  oath  prescribed  by  the  Constitu- 
tion Of  the  United  States  to  be  taken  by  the 
President  **  before  he  enters  on  the  execution 
of  his  office." 

I  do  not  consider  it  necessary  at  present  for 
me  to  discuss  those  matters  of  administration 
about  which  there  is  no  special  anxiety  or 
excitement. 

Apprehension  seems  to  exist  among  the 
people  of  the  Southern  States  that  by  the  ac- 
cession of  a  Republican  Administration  their 
property  and  their  peace  and  personal  secur- 
ity are  to  be  endangered.  There  has  never 
been  any  reasonable  cause  for  such  apprehen- 
sion. Indeed,  the  most  ample  evidence  to  the 
contrary  has  all  the  while  existed  and  been 
open  to  their  inspection.  It  is  found  in  nearly 
all  the  published  speeches  of  him  who  now 
addresses  you.  I  do  but  quote  from  one  of 
those  speeches  when  I  declare  that — 

I  have  no  purpose,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  inter- 
fere with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  States  where 

245 


S^naugural  aDbre^^efeiBf 


it  exists.     I  believe  I  have  no  lawful  right  to  do  so, 
and  I  have  no  inclination  to  do  so. 

Those  who  nominated  and  elected  me  did  so 
with  full  knowledge  that  I  had  made  this  and 
many  similar  declarations,  and  had  never  re- 
canted them;  and  more  than  this,  they  placed 
in  the  platform  for  my  acceptance,  and  as  a 
law  to  themselves  and  to  me,  the  clear  and 
emphatic  resolution  which  I  now  read: 

Resolved,  That  the  maintenance  inviolate  of  the 
rights  of  the  States,  and  especially  the  right  of  each 
State  to  order  and  control  its  own  domestic  institu- 
tions according  to  its  own  judgment  exclusively,  is 
essential  to  that  balance  of  power  on  which  the  per- 
fection and  endurance  of  our  political  fabric  depend; 
and  we  denounce  the  lawless  invasion  by  armed  force 
of  the  soil  of  any  State  or  Territory,  no  matter  under 
what  pretext,  as  among  the  gravest  of  crimes. 

I  now  reiterate  these  sentiments,  and  in 
doing  so,  I  only  press  upon  the  public  atten- 
tion the  most  conclusive  evidence  of  which  the 
case  is  susceptible  that  the  property,  peace^ 
and  security  of  no  section  are  to  be  in  any  wise - 
endangered  by  the  now  incoming  Administra- 
tion. I  add,  too,  that  all  the  protection  which, 
consistently  with  the  Constitution  and  the 
laws,  can  be  given  will  be  cheerfully  given  to 
all  the  States  when  lawfully  demanded,  for 
whatever  cause — as  cheerfully  to  one  section 
as  to  another. 

There  is  much  controversy  about  the  deliver- 
ing up  of  fugitives  from  service  or  labor.    The 

246 


3lbral)am  Lincoln 


clause  I  now  read   is  as  plainly  written  in  the 
Constitution  as  any  other  of  its  provisions: 

I  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State, 
^ under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall 
in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein  be 
[discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be 
(delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  ser- 
vice or  labor  may  be  due. 

It  is  scarcely  questioned  that  this  provision 
was  intended  by  those  who  made  it  for  the 
reclaiming  of  what  we  call  fugitive  slaves ;  and 
the  intention  of  the  law-giver  is  the  law.  All 
members  of  Congress  swear  their  support  to 
the  whole  Constitution — to  this  provision  as 
much  as  to  any  other.  To  the  proposition, 
then,  that  slaves  whose  cases  come  within  the 
terms  of  this  clause  ** shall  be  delivered  up" 
their  oaths  are  unanimous.  Now,  if  they 
would  make  the  effort  in  good  temper,  could 
they  not  with  nearly  equal  unanimity  frame 
and  pass  a  law  by  means  of  which  to  keep 
good  that  unanimous  oath.? 

There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  whether 
this  clause  should  be  enforced  by  national  or 
by  State  authority,  but  surely  that  difference 
is  not  a  very  material  one.  If  the  slave  is  to 
be  surrendered,  it  can  be  of  but  little  conse- 
quence to  him  or  to  others  by  which  authority 
it  is  done.  And  should  any  one  in  any  case 
be  content  that  his  oath  shall  go  unkept  on  a 
merely  unsubstantial  controversy  as  to  how  it 
shall  be  kept? 

247 


S^naugucal  ^t^t^tt^^t^ 


Again:  In  any  law  upon  this  subject  ought 
not  all  the  safeguards  of  liberty  known  in  civil- 
ized and  humane  jurisprudence  to  be  intro- 
duced, so  that  a  free  man  be  not  in  any  case 
surrendered  as  a  slave?  And  might  it  not  be 
well  at  the  same  time  to  provide  by  law  for 
the  enforcement  of  that  clause  in  the  Constitu- 
tion which  guarantees  that  **the  citizens  of 
each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and 
immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States"? 

I  take  the  official  oath  to-day  with  no  mental 
reservations  and  with  no  purpose  to  construe 
the  Constitution  or  laws  by  any  hypercritical 
rules;  and  while  I  do  not  choose  now  to 
specify  particular  acts  of  Congress  as  proper 
to  be  enforced,  I  do  suggest  that  it  will  be 
much  safer  for  all,  both  in  official  and  private 
stations,  to  conform  to  and  abide  by  all  those 
acts  which  stand  unrepealed  than  to  violate 
any  of  them  trusting  to  find  impunity  in  having 
them  held  to  be  unconstitutional. 

It  is  seventy-two  years  since  the  first  inaugu- 
ration of  a  President  under  our  National  Con- 
stitution. During  that  period  fifteen  different 
and  greatly  distinguished  citizens  have  in  suc- 
cession administered  the  executive  branch  of 
the  Government.  They  have  conducted  it 
through  many  perils,  and  generally  with  great 
success.  Yet,  with  all  this  scope  of  prece- 
dent, I  now  enter  upon  the  same  task  for  the 
brief  constitutional  term  of  four  years  under 
great  and  peculiar  difficulty.     Adisrugtion  -of 

248 


abraf)am  Lincoln 


the  Federal  Unioa,  hereto fare-oaly.  menaced, 
IS  now  formidably  attempted. 

I  hold  that  in  contemplation  of  universal 
law  and  of  the  Constitution  ^_Union  of  these 
States  is  perpetual.  Perpetuity  is  implied,  if 
not  expressed,  in  the  fundamental  law  of  all 
national  governments.  It  is  safe  to  assert 
that  no  government  proper  ever  had  a  pro- 
vision in  its  organic  law  for  its  own  termina- 
tion. Continue  to  execute  all  the  express 
provisions  of  our  National  Constitution,  and 
the  Union  will  endure  forever,  it  being  impos- 
sible to  destroy  it  except  by  some  action  not 
provided  for  in  the  instrument  itself. 

Again:  If  the  United  States  be  not  a  gov- 
ernment proper,  but  an  association  of  States 
in  the  nature  of  contract  merely,  can  it,  as  a 
contract,  be  peaceably  unmade  by  less  than  all 
the  parties  who  made  it.?  One  party  to  a  con- 
tract may  violate  it — break  it,  so  to  speak — 
but  does  it  not  require  all  to  lawfully  rescind  it.? 

Descending  from  these  general  principles, 
we  find  the  proposition  that  in  legal  contem- 
plation the  Union  is  perpetual  confirmed  by 
the  history  of  the  Union  itself.  The  Union  is 
much  older  than  the  Constitution.  It  was 
formed,  in  fact,  by  the  Articles  of  Associa- 
tion, in  1774.  It  was  matured  and  continued 
by  the  Declaration  of  Independence  in  1776. 
It  was  further  matured,  and  the  faith  of  all  the 
then  thirteen  States  expressly  plighted  and 
engaged  that  it  should  be  perpetual,  by  the 

249 


S^naugural  3lDtirej6fi^e^ 


Articles  of  Confederation  in  1778.  And 
finally,  in  1787,  one  of  the  declared  objects 
for  ordaining  and  establishing  the  Constitution 
was  '^tx>Jorm  a  more  perject  Union.^'' 

But  if  destruction  of  the  Union  by  one  or 
by  a  part  only  of  the  States  be  lawfully  pos- 
sible, the  Union  is  less  perfect  than  before  the 
Constitution,  having  lost  the  vital  element  of 
perpetuity. 

It  follows  from  these  views  that  no  State 
upon  its  own  mere  motion  can  lawfully  get 
out  of  the  Union;  that  resolves  and  ordinances 
to  that  effect  are  legally  void,  and  that  acts  of 
violence  within  any  State  or  States  against  the 
authority  of  the  United  States  are  insurrection- 
ary or  revolutionary,  according  to  circum- 
stances. 

""  I  therefore  consider  that  in  view  of  the 
Constitution  and  the  laws  the  Union  is  un- 
broken, and  to  the  extent  of  my  ability  I  shall 
take  care,  as  the  Constitution  itself  expressly 
enjoins  upon  me,  that  the  laws  of  the  Union 
be  faithfully  executed  in  all  the  States.  Doing 
this  I  deem  to  be  only  a  simple  duty  on  my 
part,  and  I  shall  perform  it  so  far  as  practi- 
cable, unless  my  rightful  masters,  the  American 
people,  shall  withhold  the  requisite  means  or 
in  some  authoritative  manner  direct  the  con- 
trary. I  trust  this  will  not  be  regarded  as  a 
menace,  but  only  as  the  declared  purpose  of 
the  Union  that  it  will  constitutionally  defend 
and  maintain  itself. 


250 


^firaliam  Hincoln 


In  doing  this  there  needs  to  be  no  bloodshed 
or  violence,  and  there  shall  be  none  unless  it 
be  forced  upon  the  national  authority.  The 
power  confided  to  me  will  be  used  to  hold, 
occupy,  and  possess  the  property  and  places 
belonging  to  the  Government  and  to  collect 
the  duties  and  imposts;  but  beyond  what  may 
be  necessary  for  these  objects,  there  will  be 
no  invasion,  no  using  of  force  against  or 
among  the  people  anywhere.  Where  hostility 
to  the  United  States  in  any  interior  locality 
shall  be  so  great  and  universal  as  to  prevent 
competent  resident  citizens  from  holding  the 
Federal  offices,  there  will  be  no  attempt  to 
force  obnoxious  strangers  among  the  people 
for  that  object.  While  the  strict  legal  right 
may  exist  in  the  Government  to  enforce  the 
exercise  of  these  offices,  the  attempt  to  do  so 
would  be  so  irritating  and  so  nearly  imprac- 
ticable withal  that  I  deem  it  better  to  forego 
for  the  time  the  uses  of  such  offices. 

The  mails,  unless  repelled,  will  continue  to 
be  furnished  in  all  parts  of  the  Union.  So 
far  as  possible  the  people  everywhere  shall 
have  that  sense  of  perfect  security  which  is 
most  favorable  to  calm  thought  and  reflection. 
The  course  here  indicated  will  be  followed  un- 
less current  events  and  experience  shall  show 
a  modification  or  change  to  be  proper,  and  in 
every  case  and  exigency  my  best  discretion 
will  be  exercised,  according  to  circumstances 
actually  existing  and  with  a  view  and  a  hope 

251 


S^naugural  ^.Dtireief^e^ 


of  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  national  troubles 
and  the  restoration  of  fraternal  sympathies  and 
affections. 

That  there  are  persons  in  one  section  or 
another  who  seek  to  destroy  the  Union  at  all 
events  and  are  glad  of  any  pretext  to  do  it  I 
will  neither  affirm  nor  deny;  but  if  there  be 
such,  I  need  address  no  word  to  them.  To 
those,  however,  who  really  love  the  Union  may 
I  not  speak? 

Before  entering  upon  so  grave  a  matter  as 
the  destruction  of  our  national  fabric,  with  all 
its  benefits,  its  memories,  and  its  hopes,  would 
it  not  be  wise  to  ascertain  precisely  why  we  do 
it?  Will  you  hazard  so  desperate  a  step  while 
there  is  any  possibility  that  any  portion  of  the 
ills  you  fly  from  have  no  real  existence?  Will 
you,  while  the  certain  ills  you  fly  to  are  greater 
than  all  the  real  ones  you  fly  from,  will  you 
risk  the  commission  of  so  fearful  a  mistake? 

All  profess  to  be  content  in  the  Union  if  all 
constitutional  rights  can  be  maintained.  Is  it 
true,  then,  that  any  right  plainly  written  in  the 
Constitution  has  been  denied?  I  think  not. 
Happily,  the  human  mind  is  so  constituted 
that  no  party  can  reach  to  the  audacity  of 
doing  this.  Think,  if  you  can,  of  a  single 
instance  in  which  a  plainly  written  provision 
of  the  Constitution  has  ever  been  denied.  If 
by  the  mere  force  of  numbers  a  majority 
should  deprive  a  minority  of  any  clearly  writ- 
ten constitutional  right,  it  might  in  a  moral 

252 


3l6ral)am  Hincoln 


point  of  view  justify  revolution;  certainly 
would  if  such  right  were  a  vital  one.  But 
such  is  not  our  case.  All  the  vital  rights  of 
minorities  and  of  individuals  are  so  plainly 
assured  to  them  by  affirmations  and  negations, 
guaranties  and  prohibitions,  in  the  Constitu- 
tion that  controversies  never  arise  concerning 
them.  But  no  organic  law  can  ever  be  framed 
with  a  provision  specifically  applicable  to  every 
question  which  may  occur  in  practical  adminis- 
tration. No  foresight  can  anticipate  nor  any 
document  of  reasonable  length  contain  express 
provisions  for  all  possible  questions.  Shall 
fugitives  from  labor  be  surrendered  by  national 
or  by  State  authority.?  The  Constitution  does 
not  expressly  say.  May  Congress  prohibit 
slavery  in  the  Territories.?  The  Constitution 
does  not  expressly  say.  Must  Congress  pro- 
tect slavery  in  the  Territories?  The  Constitu- 
tion does  not  expressly  say. 

From  questions  of  this  class  spring  all  our 
constitutional  controversies,  and  we  divide 
upon  them  into  majorities  and  minorities.  If 
the  minority  will  not  acquiesce,  the  majority 
must,  or  the  Government  must  cease.  There 
is  no  other  alternative,  for  continuing  the 
Government  is  acquiescence  on  one  side  or 
the  other.  If  a  minority  in  such  case  will 
secede  rather  than  acquiesce,  they  make  a 
precedent  which  in  turn  will  divide  and  ruin 
them,  for  a  minority  of  their  own  will  secede 
from  them  whenever  a  majority  refuses  to  be 

253 


^Tnaugural  aiutire^^ei^ 


controlled  by  such  minority.  For  instance, 
why  may  not  any  portion  of  a  new  confederacy 
a  year  or  two  hence  arbitrarily  secede  again, 
precisely  as  portions  of  the  present  Union  now 
claim  to  secede  from  it?  All  who  cherish  dis- 
union sentiments  are  now  being  educated  to 
the  exact  temper  of  doing  this. 

Is  there  such  perfect  identity  of  interests 
among  the  States  to  compose  a  new  union  as 
to  produce  harmony  only  and  prevent  renewed 
secession.? 

Plainly  the  central  idea  of  secession  is  the 
essence  of  anarchy.  A  majority  held  in  re- 
straint by  constitutional  checks  and  limitations, 
and  always  changing  easily  with  deliberate 
changes  of  popular  opinions  and  sentiments, 
is  the  only  true  sovereign  of  a  free  people. 
Whoever  rejects  it  does  of  necessity  fly  to 
anarchy  or  to  despotism.  Unanimity  is  impos- 
sible. The  rule  of  a  minority,  as  a  permanent 
arrangement,  is  wholly  inadmissible;  so  that, 
rejecting  the  majority  principle,  anarchy  or 
despotism  in  some  form  is  all  that  is  left. 

I  do  not  forget  the  position  assumed  by 
some  that  constitutional  questions  are  to  be 
decided  by  the  Supreme  Court,  nor  do  I  deny 
that  such  decisions  must  be  binding  in  any 
case  upon  the  parties  to  a  suit  as  to  the  object 
of  that  suit,  while  they  are  also  entitled  to 
very  high  respect  and  consideration  in  all  par- 
allel cases  by  all  other  departments  of  the 
Government.     And  while  it  is  obviously  pos- 

254 


3lBral)am  3lincoln 


sible  that  such  decision  may  be  erroneous  in 
any  given  case,  still  the  evil  effect  following  it, 
being  Hmited  to  that  particular  case,  with  the 
chance  that  it  may  be  overruled  and  never 
become  a  precedent  for  other  cases,  can  better 
be  borne  than  could  the  evils  of  a  different 
practice.  At  the  same  time,  the  candid  citi- 
zen must  confess  that  if  the  policy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment upon  vital  questions  affecting  the 
whole  people  is  to  be  irrevocably  fixed  by  de- 
cisions of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  instant  they 
are  made  in  ordinary  litigation  between  parties 
in  personal  actions  the  people  will  have  ceased 
to  be  their  own  rulers,  having  to  that  extent 
practically  resigned  their  Government  into  the 
hands  of  that  eminent  tribunal.  Nor  is  there 
in  this  view  any  assault  upon  the  court  or  the 
judges.  It  is  a  duty  from  which  they  may  not 
shrink  to  decide  cases  properly  brought  before 
them,  and  it  is  no  fault  of  theirs  if  others 
seek  to  turn  their  decisions  to  poHtical  pur- 
poses. 

One  section  of  our  country  believes  slavery 
is  right  and  ought  to  be  extended,  while  the 
other  believes  it  is  wrong  and  ought  not  to  be 
extended.  This  is  the  only  substantial  dis- 
pute. The  fugitive-slave  clause  of  the  Con- 
stitution and  the  law  for  the  suppression  of  the 
foreign  slave  trade  are  each  as  well  enforced, 
perhaps,  as  any  law  can  ever  be  in  a  commu- 
nity where  the  moral  sense  of  the  people  imper- 
fectly supports  the  law  itself.     The  great  body 

255 


^Fnaugural  a^Dre^^ej^ 


of  the  people  abide  by  the  dry  legal  obligation 
in  both  cases,  and  a  few  break  over  in  each. 
This,  I  think,  cannot  be  perfectly  cured,  and 
it  would  be  worse  in  both  cases  after  the  separ- 
ation of  the  sections  than  before.  The  foreign 
slave  trade,  now  imperfectly  suppressed,  would 
be  ultimately  revived  without  restriction  in  one 
section,  while  fugitive  slaves,  now  only  par- 
tially surrendered,  would  not  be  surrendered 
at  all  by  the  other. 

Physically  speaking,  we  cannot  separate. 
We  cannot  remove  our  respective  sections 
from  each  other  nor  build  an  impassable  wall 
between  them.  A  husband  and  wife  may  be 
divorced  and  go  out  of  the  presence  and  be- 
yond the  reach  of  each  other,  but  the  different 
parts  of  our  country  cannot  do  this.  They 
cannot  but  remain  face  to  face,  and  inter- 
course, either  amicable  or  hostile,  must  con- 
tinue between  them.  Is  it  possible,  then,  to 
make  that  intercourse  more  advantageous  or 
more  satisfactory  ajter  separation  than  before? 
Can  aliens  make  treaties  easier  than  friends 
can  make  laws.?  Can  treaties  be  more  faith- 
fully enforced  between  aliens  than  laws  can 
among  friends?  Suppose  you  go  to  war,  you 
cannot  fight  always;  and  when,  after -much 
loss  on  both  sides  and  no  gain  on  either,  ycra- 
cease  fighting,  the  identical  old  questions,  as 
to  terms  of  intercourse,  are  again  upon  you. 

This  country,  with  its  institutions,  belongs 
to  the  people  who  inhabit  it.     Whenever  they 

256 


aifiraliam  Hincoln 


shall  grow  weary  of  the  existing  Government, 
they  can  exercise  their  constitutional  right  of 
amending  it  or  their  revolutionary  right  to  dis- 
member or  overthrow  it.  I  cannot  be  ignorant 
of  the  fact  that  many  worthy  and  patriotic 
citizens  are  desirous  of  having  the  National 
Constitution  amended.  While  I  make  no 
recommendation  of  amendments,  I  fully  recog- 
nize the  rightful  authority  of  the  people  over 
the  whole  subject,  to  be  exercised  in  either  of 
the  modes  prescribed  in  the  instrument  itself; 
and  I  should,  under  existing  circumstances, 
favor  rather  than  oppose  a  fair  opportunity 
being  afforded  the  people  to  act  upon  it.  I 
will  venture  to  add  that  to  me  the  convention 
mode  seems  preferable,  in  that  it  allows 
amendments  to  originate  with  the  people 
themselves,  instead  of  only  permitting  them 
to  take  or  reject  propositions  originated  by 
others,  not  especially  chosen  for  the  purpose, 
and  which  might  not  be  precisely  such  as  they 
would  wish  to  either  accept  or  refuse.  I 
understand  a  proposed  amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution— which  amendment,  however,  I  have 
not  seen — has  passed  Congress,  to  the  effect 
that  the  Federal  Government  shall  never  inter- 
fere with  the  domestic  institutions  of  the 
States,  including  that  of  persons  held  to  ser- 
vice. To  avoid  misconstruction  of  what  I 
have  said,  I  depart  from  my  purpose  not  to 
speak  of  particular  amendments  so  far  as  to 
say  that,  holding  such  a  provision  to  now  be 

257 


S^naugural  ^Dtire^^e0 


implied  constitutional  law,  I  have  no  objection 
to  its  being  made  express  and  irrevocable. 

The  Chief  Magistrate  derives  all  his  author- 
ity from  the  people,  and  they  have  conferred 
none  upon  him  to  fix  terms  for  the  separation 
of  the  States.  The  people  themselves  can  do 
this  also  if  they  choose,  but  the  Executive  as 
such  has  nothing  to  do  with  it.  His  duty  is 
to  administer  the  present  Government  as  it 
came  to  his  hands  and  to  transmit  it  unimpaired 
by  him  to  his  successor. 

Why  should  there  not  be  a  patient  confi- 
dence in  the  ultimate  justice  of  the  people.? 
Is  there  any  better  or  equal  hope  in  the  world.'* 
In  our  present  differences,  is  either  party  with- 
out faith  of  being  in  the  right?  If  the  Almighty 
Ruler  of  Nations,  with  His  eternal  truth  and 
justice,  be  on  your  side  of  the  North,  or  on 
yours  of  the  South,  that  truth  and  that  justice 
will  surely  prevail  by  the  judgment  of  this  great 
tribunal  of  the  American  people. 

Bx_the  frame  of  the  Government  under 
which  *w5  live  this  same  people  have  wisely 
g^veiiTlTeir  public  servants  but  little  power  for 
mischief,  and  have  with  equal  wisdom  pro- 
vided for  the  return  of  that  little  to  their  own 
hands  at  very  short  intervals.  While  the  peo- 
ple retain  their  virtue  and  vigilance  no  Adminis- 
tration by  any  extreme  of  wickedness  or  folly 
can  very  seriously  injure  the  Government  in 
the  short  space  of  four  years. 

My  countrymen,  one  and  all,  think  calmly 

258 


afiraljam  Hincoln 


and  well  upon  this  whole  subject.  Nothing 
valuable  can  be  lost  by  taking  time.  If  there 
be  an  object  to  hurry  any  of  you  in  hot  haste 
to  a  step  which  you  would  never  take  deliber- 
ately, that  object  will  be  frustrated  by  taking 
time;  l^t  no  good  object  can  be  frustrated  by 
it.  Sucln5f~ybu  as  are  now  dissatisfied  still 
have  the  old  Constitution  unimpaired,  and,  on 
the  sensitive  point,  the  laws  of  your  own 
framing  under  it;  while  the  new  Administra- 
tion will  have  no  immediate  power,  if  it  would, 
to  change  either.  If  it  were  admitted  that  you 
who  are  dissatisfied  hold  the  right  side  in  the 
dispute,  there  still  is  no  single  good  reason  for 
precipitate  action.  Intelligence,  patriotism, 
Christianity,  and  a  firm  reliance  on  Him  who 
has  never  yet  forsaken  this  favored  land  are 
still  competent  to  adjust  in  the  best  way  all 
our  present  difficulty. 

In  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow-coun- 
trymen, and  not  in  fnine,  is  the  momentous 
issue  of  civil  war.  The  Government  will  not 
assail  you.  You  can  have  no  conflict  without 
being  yourselves'  the  aggressors.  You  have 
n5  oath  registered  in  heaven  to  destroy  the 
Government,  while  /  shall  have  the  most 
solemn  one  to  "preserve,  protect,  and  defend 
it." 

I  am  loath  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies, 
but  friends.  We  must  not  be  enemies. 
Though  passion  may  have  strained  it  must  not 
break    our   bonds   of    affection.     The    mystic 

259 


S^naugural  atidtc^^c^ 


chords  of  memory,  stretching  from  every 
battlefield  and  patriot  grave  to  every  living 
heart  and  hearthstone  all  over  this  broad  land, 
will  yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union,  when 
again  touched,  as  surely  they  will  be,  by  the 
better  angels  of  our  natures. 
March  4,  1 86 1. 


260 


abral^am  iLfncoln 

SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN:  At  this 
second  appearing  to  take  the  oath  of  the 
Presidential  office  there  is  less  occasion 
for  an  extended  address  than  there  was  at  the 
first.  Then  a  statement  somewhat  in  detail  of  a 
course  to  be  pursued  seemed  fitting  and  proper. 
Now,  at  the  expiration  of  four  years,  during 
which  public  declarations  have  been  constantly- 
called  forth  on  every  point  and  phase  of  the 
great  contest  which  still  absorbs  the  attention 
and  engrosses  the  energies  of  the  nation,  little 
that  is  new  could  be  presented.  The  progress 
of  our  arms,  upon  which  all  else  chiefly  de- 
pends, is  as  well  known  to  the  public  as  to 
myself,  and  it  is,  I  trust,  reasonably  satisfac- 
tory and  encouraging  to  all.  With  high  hope 
for  the  future,  no  prediction  in  regard  to  it  is 
ventured. 

On  the  occasion  corresponding  to  this  four 
years  ago,  all  thoughts  were  anxiously  directed 
to  an  impending  civil  war.  All  dreaded  it,  all 
sought  to  avert  it.  While  the  inaugural  ad- 
dress was  being  delivered  from  this  place, 
devoted  altogether  to  saving  the  Union  with- 
out war,  insurgent  agents  were  in  the  city 
seeking  to  destroy  it  without  war — seeking  to 

261 


S^naugural  atiUre^^eiee 


dissolve  the  Union  and  divide  effects  by  nego- 
tiation. Both  parties  deprecated  war,  but  one 
of  them  would  make  war  rather  than  let  the 
nation  survive,  and  the  other  would  accept  war 
rather  than  let  it  perish,  and  the  war  came. 

One-eighth  of  the  whole  population  were 
colored  slaves,  not  distributed  generally  over 
the  Union,  but  localized  in  the  southern  part 
of  it.  These  slaves  constituted  a  peculiar  and 
powerful  interest.  All  knew  that  this  interest 
was  somehow  the  cause  of  the  war.  To 
strengthen,  perpetuate,  and  extend  this  inter- 
est was  the  object  for  which  the  insurgents 
would  rend  the  Union  even  by  war,  while  the 
Government  claimed  no  right  to  do  more  than 
to  restrict  the  territorial  enlargement  of  it. 
Neither  party  expected  for  the  war  the  magni- 
tude or  the  duration  which  it  has  already 
attained.  Neither  anticipated  that  the  cause 
of  the  conflict  might  cease  with  or  even  before 
the  conflict  itself  should  cease.  Each  looked 
for  an  easier  triumph,  and  a  result  less  funda- 
mental and  astounding.  Both  read  the  same 
Bible  and  pray  to  the  same  God,  and  each 
invokes  His  aid  against  the  other.  It  may 
seem  strange  that  any  men  should  dare  to 
ask  a  just  God's  assistance  in  wringing  their 
bread  from  the  sweat  of  other  men's  faces, 
but  let  us  judge  not  that  we  be  not  judged. 
The  prayers  of  both  could  not  be  answered. 
That  of  neither  has  been  answered  fully.  The 
Almighty  has  His  own  purposes.     "Woe  unto 

262 


afiraftam  Hincoln 


the  world  because  of  offenses;  for  it  must 
needs  be  that  offenses  come,  but  woe  to  that 
man  by  whom  the  offense  cometh."  If  we 
shall  suppose  that  American  slavery  is  one  of 
those  offenses  which,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
must  needs  come,  but  which,  having  continued 
through  His  appointed  time.  He  now  wills  to 
remove,  and  that  He  gives  to  both  North  and 
South  this  terrible  war  as  the  woe  due  to  those 
by  whom  the  offense  came,  shall  we  discern 
therein  any  departure  from  those  divine  attri- 
butes which  the  believers  in  a  living  God 
always  ascribe  to  Him?  Fondly  do  we  hope, 
fervently  do  we  pray,  that  this  mighty  scourge 
of  war  may  speedily  pass  away.  Yet,  if  God 
wills  that  it  continue  until  all  the  wealth  piled 
by  the  bondsman's  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  of  unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk,  and 
until  every  drop  of  blood  drawn  with  the  lash 
shall  be  paid  by  another  drawn  with  the  sword, 
as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so  still 
it  must  be  said  "the  judgments  of  the  Lord 
are  true  and  righteous  altogether." 

With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for 
all,  with  firmness  in  the  right  as  God  gives  us 
to  see  the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to  finish  the 
work  we  are  in,  to  bind  up  the  nation's  wounds, 
to  care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne  the  bat- 
tle and  for  his  widow  and  his  orphan,  to  do  all 
which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and  last- 
ing peace  among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations. 

March  4,  1865. 

263 


Constitution  of  the  United  States 
1787 


265 


<Coni6ftitutxon  of  tl)e  Bnittt^  Matt^ 

1787 


WE  THE  People  of  the  United  States, 
in  Order  to  form  a  more  perfect 
Union,  establish  Justice,  insure  domes- 
tic Tranquihty,  provide  for  the  common  defence, 
promote  the  general  Welfare,  and  secure  the 
Blessings  of  Liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  Pos- 
terity, do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitu- 
tion for  the  United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE  I 

SECTION  I 

I.  All  legislative  Powers  herein  granted 
shall  be  vested  in  a  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives. 

SECTION  II 

1.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be 
composed  of  Members  chosen  every  second 
Year  by  the  People  of  the  several  States,  and 
the  Electors  in  each  State  shall  have  the 
Qualifications  requisite  for  Electors  of  the 
most  numerous  Branch  of  the  State  Legisla- 
ture. 

2.  No  Person  shall  be  a  Representative 
who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  Age  of 

267 


Constitution  of  ti\t 


twenty-five  Years,  and  been  seven  Years  a 
Citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall 
not,  when  elected,  be  an  Inhabitant  of  that 
State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

3.  Representatives  and  direct  Taxes  shall 
be  apportioned  among  the  several  States  which 
may  be  included  within  this  Union,  according 
to  their  respective  Numbers,  which  shall  be 
determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  Number  of 
free  Persons,  including  those  bound  to  Service 
for  a  Term  of  Years,  and  excluding  Indians 
not  taxed,  three  fifths  of  all  other  Persons. 
The  actual  Enumeration  shall  be  made  within 
three  Years  after  the  first  Meeting  of  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  and  within  every 
subsequent  Term  of  ten  Years,  in  such  Man- 
ner as  they  shall  by  Law  direct.  The  Num- 
ber of  Representatives  shall  not  exceed  one 
for  every  thirty  Thousand,  but  each  State 
shall  have  at  Least  one  Representative;  and 
until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled 
to  chuse  three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode- 
Island  and  Providence  Plantations  one,  Con- 
necticut five.  New- York  six,  New  Jersey  four, 
Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one,  Maryland 
six,  Virginia  ten,  North  Carolina  five.  South 
Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

4.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  Repre- 
sentation from  any  State,  the  Executive 
Authority  thereof  shall  issue  Writs  of  Elec- 
tion to  fill  such  Vacancies. 


268 


Oniteti  ^tateiBf— 1787 


5.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall 
chuse  their  Speaker  and  other  Officers;  and 
shall  have  the  sole  Power  of  Impeachment. 

SECTION  ni 

1.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall 
be  composed  of  two  Senators  from  each 
State,  chosen  by  the  Legislature  thereof, 
for  six  Years;  and  each  Senator  shall  have 
one  Vote. 

2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assem- 
bled in  Consequence  of  the  first  Election,  they 
shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into  three 
Classes.  The  Seats  of  the  Senators  of  the  first 
Class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  Expiration  of  the 
second  year,  of  the  second  Class  at  the  Ex- 
piration of  the  fourth  Year,  and  of  the  third 
Class  at  the  Expiration  of  the  sixth  Year,  so 
that  one-third  may  be  chosen  every  second 
Year;  and  if  Vacancies  happen  by  Resigna- 
tion, or  otherwise,  during  the  Recess  of  the 
Legislature  of  any  State,  the  Executive  thereof 
may  make  temporary  Appointments  until  the 
next  Meeting  of  the  Legislature,  which  shall 
then  fill  such  Vacancies. 

3.  No  Person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall 
not  have  attained  to  the  Age  of  thirty  Years, 
and  been  nine  Years  a  Citizen  of  the  United 
States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be 
an  Inhabitant  of  that  State  for  which  he  shall 
be  chosen. 

4.  The  Vice  President  of  the  United  States 

269 


CoHiBftitution  of  tt^t 


shall  be  President  of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have 
no  Vote,  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

5.  The  Senate  shall  chuse  their  other  Offi- 
cers, and  also  a  President  pro  tempore,  in  the 
Absence  of  the  Vice  President,  or  when  he 
shall  exercise  the  Office  of  President  of  the 
United  States. 

6.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  Power  to 
try  all  Impeachments.  When  sitting  for  that 
Purpose,  they  shall  be  on  Oath  or  Affirmation. 
When  the  President  of  the  United  States  is 
tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside:  And 
no  Person  shall  be  convicted  without  the 
Concurrence  of  two  thirds  of  the  Members 
present. 

7.  Judgment  in  Cases  of  Impeachment  shall 
not  extend  further  than  to  removal  from  Office, 
and  disquahfication  to  hold  and  enjoy  any 
Office  of  honor.  Trust  or  Profit  under  the 
United  States:  but  the  Party  convicted  shall 
nevertheless  be  liable  and  subject  to  Indict- 
ment, Trial,  Judgment  and  Punishment,  ac- 
cording to  Law. 

SECTION  IV 

I.  The  Times,  Places  and  Manner  of  hold- 
ing Elections  for  Senators  and  Representa- 
tives, shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State  by  the 
Legislature  thereof;  but  the  Congress  may  at 
any  time  by  Law  make  or  alter  such  Regu- 
lations, except  as  to  the  Places  of  chusing 
Senators. 

270 


anitcD  Meitt^—1787 


2.  The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least 
once  in  every  Year,  and  such  Meeting  shall  be 
on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they 
shall  by  Law  appoint  a  different  Day. 

SECTION  V 

1.  Each  House  shall  be  the  Judge  of  the 
Elections,  Returns  and  Qualifications  of  its 
own  Members,  and  a  Majority  of  each  shall 
constitute  a  Quorum  to  do  Business;  but  a 
smaller  Number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day, 
and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  Attend- 
ance of  absent  Members,  in  such  Manner,  and 
under  such  Penalties  as  each  House  may  pro- 
vide. 

2.  Each  House  may  determine  the  Rules  of 
its  Proceedings,  punish  its  Members  for  dis- 
orderly Behavior,  and,  with  the  Concurrence 
of  two  thirds,  expel  a  Member. 

3.  Each  House  shall  keep  a  Journal  of  its 
Proceedings,  and  from  time  to  time  publish  the 
same,  excepting  such  Parts  as  may  in  their 
Judgment  require  Secrecy;  and  the  Yeas  and 
Nays  of  the  Members  of  either  House  on  any 
question  shall,  at  the  Desire  of  one  fifth  of 
those  present,  be  entered  on  the  Journal. 

4.  Neither  House,  during  the  Session  of 
Congress,  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  the 
other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor 
to  any  other  Place  than  that  in  which  the  two 
Houses  shall  be  sitting. 


271 


ConjB^titution  of  tf^t 


SECTION  VI 

1.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall 
receive  a  Compensation  for  their  Services,  to 
be  ascertained  by  Law,  and  paid  out  of  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States.  They  shall 
in  all  Cases,  except  Treason,  Felony  and 
Breach  of  the  Peace,  be  privileged  from  Arrest 
during  their  Attendance  at  the  Session  of  their 
respective  Houses,  and  in  going  to  and  return- 
ing from  the  same;  and  for  any  Speech  or 
Debate  in  either  House,  they  shall  not  be 
questioned  in  any  other  Place. 

2.  No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  dur- 
ing the  Time  for  which  he  was  elected,  be  ap- 
pointed to  any  civil  Office  under  the  Authority 
of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have  been 
created,  or  the  Emoluments  whereof  shall 
have  been  encreased  during  such  time;  and  no 
Person  holding  any  Office  under  the  United 
States,  shall  be  a  Member  of  either  House 
during  his  Continuance  in  Office. 

SECTION  VII 

1.  All  Bills  for  raising  Revenue  shall  origi- 
nate in  the  House  of  Representatives;  but  the 
Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with  Amend- 
ments as  on  other  Bills. 

2.  Every  Bill  which  shall  have  passed  the 
House  of  Representatives  and  the  Senate, 
shall,  before  it  become  a  Law,  be  presented 

272 


caniteH  J^tate^— 1787 


to  the  President  of  the  United  States;  If  he 
approve  he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he  shall 
return  it,  with  his  Objections  to  that  House  in 
which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter 
the  Objections  at  large  on  their  Journal,  and 
proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If  after  such  Recon- 
sideration two  thirds  of  that  House  shall  agree 
to  pass  the  Bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with 
the  Objections,  to  the  other  House,  by  which 
it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  ap- 
proved by  two  thirds  of  that  House,  it  shall 
become  a  Law.  But  in  all  such  Cases  the 
Votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  determined  by 
Yeas  and  Nays,  and  the  Names  of  the  Persons 
voting  for  and  against  the  Bill  shall  be  entered 
on  the  Journal  of  each  House  respectively.  If 
any  Bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  President 
within  ten  Days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it 
shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the  Same 
shall  be  a  Law,  in  like  Manner  as  if  he  had 
signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their  Ad- 
journment prevent  its  Return,  in  which  Case 
it  shall  not  be  a  Law. 

3.  Every  Order,  Resolution,  or  Vote  to 
which  the  Concurrence  of  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary 
(except  on  a  question  of  Adjournment)  shall 
be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States;  and  before  the  Same  shall  take  Effect, 
shall  be  approved  by  him,  or  being  disapproved 
by  him,  shall  be  repassed  by  two  thirds  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  accord- 

273 


Con^tftitution  of  tl)e 


ing  to  the  Rules  and  Limitations  prescribed  in 
the  Case  of  a  Bill. 

SECTION  vni 

1.  The  Congress  shall  have  Power  To  lay 
and  collect  Taxes,  Duties,  Imposts  and  Ex- 
cises, to  pay  the  Debts  and  provide  for  the 
common  Defence  and  general  Welfare  of  the 
United  States;  but  all  Duties,  Imposts  and 
Excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the 
United  States; 

2.  To  borrow  Money  on  the  credit  of  the 
United  States; 

3.  To  regulate  Commerce  with  foreign  Na- 
tions, and  among  the  several  States,  and  with 
the  Indian  Tribes; 

4.  To  estabhsh  an  uniform  Rule  of  Naturali- 
zation, and  uniform  Laws  on  the  subject  of 
Bankruptcies  throughout  the  United  States; 

5.  To  coin  Money,  regulate  the  Value 
thereof,  and  of  foreign  Coin,  and  fix  the 
Standard  of  Weights  and  Measures; 

6.  To  provide  for  the  Punishment  of  coun- 
terfeiting the  Securities  and  current  Coin  of 
the  United  States; 

7.  To  establish  Post  Offices  and  post  Roads; 

8.  To  promote  the  Progress  of  Science  and 
useful  Arts,  by  securing  for  limited  Times  to 
Authors  and  Inventors  the  exclusive  Right  to 
their  respective  Writings  and  Discoveries; 

9.  To  constitute  Tribunals  inferior  to  the 
supreme  Court; 

274 


dniteu  S>tatt^—X787 


10.  To  define  and  punish  Piracies  and 
Felonies  committed  on  the  high  Seas,  and 
Offences  against  the  Law  of  Nations; 

11.  To  declare  War,  grant  Letters  of 
Marque  and  Reprisal,  and  make  Rules  con- 
cerning Captures  on  Land  and  Water; 

12.  To  raise  and  support  Armies,  but  no 
Appropriation  of  Money  to  that  Use  shall  be 
for  a  longer  Term  than  two  Years; 

13.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  Navy; 

14.  To  make  Rules  for  the  Government 
and  Regulation  of  the  land  and  naval  Forces; 

15.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  Mihtia 
to  execute  the  Laws  of  the  Union,  suppress 
Insurrections  and  repel  Invasions; 

16.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and 
disciplining,  the  Militia,  and  for  governing  such 
Part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the  Ser- 
vice of  the  United  States,  reserving  to  the 
States  respectively,  the  Appointment  of  the 
Officers,  and  the  Authority  of  training  the 
Militia  according  to  the  discipline  prescribed 
by  Congress; 

17.  To  exercise  exclusive  Legislation  in  all 
Cases  whatsoever,  over  such  District  (not  ex- 
ceeding ten  Miles  square)  as  may^  by  Cession 
of  particular  States,  and  the  Acceptance  of 
Congress,  become  the  Seat  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States,  and  to  exercise  like 
Authority  over  all  Places  purchased  by  the 
Consent  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  in 
which  the  Same  shall  be,  for  the  Erection  of 


275 


Constitution  of  tf)e 


Forts,   Magazines,  Arsenals,  dock- Yards,  and 
other  needful  Buildings; — And 

1 8.  To  make  all  Laws  which  shall  be 
necessary  and  proper  for  carrying  into  Exe- 
cution the  foregoing  Powers,  and  all  other 
Powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any 
Department  or  Officer  thereof. 

SECTION  IX 

1.  The  Migration  or  Importation  of  such 
Persons  as  any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall 
think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited 
by  the  Congress  prior  to  the  Year  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a  Tax  or 
duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  Importation, 
not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  Person. 

2.  The  privilege  of  the  Writ  of  Habeas 
Corpus  shall  not  be  suspended,  unless  when 
in  Cases  of  Rebellion  or  Invasion  the  public 
Safety  may  require  it. 

3.  No  Bill  of  Attainder  or  ex  post  facto 
Law  shall  be  passed. 

4.  No  Capitation,  or  other  direct,  tax  shall 
be  laid,  unless  in  Proportion  to  the  Census  or 
Enumeration  herein  before  directed  to  be 
taken. 

5.  No  Tax  or  Duty  shall  be  laid  on  Articles 
exported  from  any  State. 

6.  No  Preference  shall  be  given  by  any 
Regulation  of  Commerce  or  Revenue  to  the 
Ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another:  nor 

276 


aniteD  ^tate^— 1787 


shall  Vessels  bound  to,  or  from,  one  State,  be 
obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  Duties  in 
another. 

7.  No  Money  shall  be  drawn  from  the 
Treasury,  but  in  Consequence  of  Appropria- 
tions made  by  Law;  and  a  regular  Statement 
and  Account  of  the  Receipts  and  Expenditures 
of  all  public  Money  shall  be  published  from 
time  to  time. 

8.  No  Title  of  Nobility  shall  be  granted  by 
the  United  States:  And  no  Person  holding 
any  Office  of  Profit  or  Trust  under  them, 
shall,  without  the  Consent  of  the  Congress, 
accept  of  any  present.  Emolument,  Office,  or 
Title,  of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  King, 
Prince,  or  foreign  State. 

SECTION  X 

1.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  Treaty, 
Alliance,  or  Confederation;  grant  Letters  of 
Marque  and  Reprisal;  coin  Money;  emit  Bills 
of  Credit;  make  any  Thing  but  gold  and  silver 
Coin  a  Tender  in  Payment  of  Debts;  pass  any 
Bill  of  Attainder,  ex  post  facto  Law,  or  Law 
impairing  the  Obligation  of  Contracts,  or 
grant  any  Title  of  Nobility. 

2.  No  State  shall,  without  the  Consent  of 
the  Congress,  lay  any  Imposts  or  Duties  on 
Imports  or  Exports,  except  what  may  be  abso- 
lutely necessary  for  executing  it's  inspection 
Laws:  and  the  net  Produce  of  all  Duties  and 
Imposts,  laid  by  any  State  on  Imports  or  Ex- 

277 


Conjeftitution  of  tf^t 


ports,  shall  be  for  the  Use  of  the  Treasury  of 
the  United  States;  and  all  such  Laws  shall  be 
subject  to  the  Revision  and  Controul  of  the 
Congress. 

3.  No  State  shall,  without  the  Consent  of 
Congress,  lay  any  Duty  of  Tonnage,  keep 
Troops,  or  Ships  of  War  in  time  of  Peace, 
enter  into  any  Agreement  or  Compact  with 
another  State,  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or 
engage  in  War,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in 
such  imminent  Danger  as  will  not  admit  of 
delay. 

ARTICLE  II* 

SECTION  I 

1.  The  executive  Power  shall  be  vested  in 
a  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 
He  shall  hold  his  Office  during  the  Term  of 
four  Years,  and,  together  with  the  Vice  Presi- 
dent, chosen  for  the  same  Term,  be  elected,  as 
follows 

2.  Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  Man- 
ner as  the  Legislature  thereof  may  direct,  a 

*  "The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and 
vote  by  ballot  for  two  Persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not 
be  an  Inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves.  And  they 
shall  make  a  List  of  all  the  Persons  voted  for,  and  of  the  Num- 
ber of  Votes  for  each;  which  List  they  shall  sign  and  certify, 
and  transmit  sealed  to  the  Seat  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate.  The 
President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  Presence  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  Certificates,  and 
the  Votes  shall  then  be  counted.  The  Person  having  the 
greatest  Number  of  Votes  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  Num- 
ber be  a  Majority  of  the  whole  Number  of  Electors  appointed; 
and  if  there  be  more  than  one  who  have  such  Majority,  and 
have  an  equal  Number  of  Votes,  then  the  House  of  Represent- 


278 


aniteD  ^tate^— X787 


Number  of  Electors,  equal  to  the  whole  Num- 
ber of  Senators  and  Representatives  to  which 
the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress: 
but  no  Senator  or  Representative,  or  Person 
holding  an  Office  of  Trust  or  Profit  under 
the  United  States,  shall  be  appointed  an 
Elector. 

3.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  Time 
of  chusing  the  Electors,  and  the  Day  on  which 
they  shall  give  their  Votes;  which  Day  shall 
be  the  same  throughout  the  United  States. 

4.  No  Person  except  a  natural  born  Citizen, 
or  a  Citizen  of  the  United  States,  at  the  time 
of  the  Adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be 
eligible  to  the  Office  of  President;  neither 
shall  any  Person  be  eligible  to  that  Office  who 
shall  not  have  attained  to  the  Age  of  thirty- 
five  Years,  and  been  fourteen  Years  a  Resident 
within  the  United  States. 

5.  In  case  of  the  Removal  of  the  President 
from  Office,  or  of  his  Death,  Resignation,  or 
Inability  to  discharge  the  Powers  and  Duties 
of  the  said  Office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on 

atives  shall  immediately  chuse  by  Ballot  one  of  them  for  Presi- 
dent; and  if  no  Person  have  a  Majority,  then  from  the  five 
highest  on  the  List  the  said  House  shall  in  like  Manner  chuse 
the  President.  But  in  chusing  the  President,  the  Votes  shall 
be  taken  by  States,  the  Representation  from  each  State  having 
one  Vote;  A  quorum  for  this  Purpose  shall  consist  of  a  Mem- 
ber or  Members  from  two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  Majority 
of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  Choice.  In  every  Case, 
after  the  Choice  of  the  President,  the  Person  having  the 
greatest  Number  of  Votes  of  the  Electors  shall  be  the  Vice 
President.  But  if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who  have 
equal  Votes,  the  Senate  shall  chuse  from  them  by  Ballot  the 
Vice-President."  This  clause  has  been  superseded  by  the 
twelfth  amendment. 


279 


CotiiBftitution  of  ti\t 


the  Vice  President,  and  the  Congress  may  by 
Law  provide  for  the  Case  of  Removal,  Death, 
Resignation,  or  Inabihty,  both  of  the  President 
and  Vice  President,  declaring  what  Officer 
shall  then  act  as  President,  and  such  Officer 
shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  Disability  be 
removed,  or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

6.  The  President  shall,  at  stated  Times, 
receive  for  his  Services,  a  Compensation, 
which  shall  neither  be  encreased  nor  diminished 
during  the  Period  for  which  he  shall  have  been 
elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive  within  that 
Period  any  other  Emolument  from  the  United 
States,  or  any  of  them. 

/.•  Before  he  enter  on  the  Execution  of  his 
Office,  he  shall  take  the  following  Oath  or 
Affirmation: — "I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm) 
that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the  Office  of 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  will  to 
the  best  of  my  Ability,  preserve,  protect  and 
defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

SECTION  II 

I.  The  President  shall  be  Commander  in 
Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  the  Militia  of  the  several  States, 
when  called  into  the  actual  Service  of  the 
United  States;  he  may  require  the  Opinion,  in 
writing,  of  the  principal  Officer  in  each  of  the 
executive  Departments,  upon  any  Subject  re- 
lating to  the  Duties  of  their  respective  Offices, 
and  he  shall  have  Power  to  grant  Reprieves 

280 


dniteti  M>tat0—\7S7 


and  Pardons  for  Offences  against  the  United 
States,  except  in  Cases  of  Impeachment. 

2.  He  shall  have  Power,  by  and  with  the 
Advice  and  Consent  of  the  Senate,  to  make 
Treaties,  provided  two  thirds  of  the  Senators 
present  concur;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and 
by  and  with  the  Advice  and  Consent  of  the 
Senate,  shall  appoint  Ambassadors,  other 
public  Ministers  and  Consuls,  Judges  of  the 
supreme  Court,  and  all  other  Officers  of  the 
United  States,  whose  Appointments  are  not 
herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall 
be  established  by  Law:  but  the  Congress  may 
by  Law  vest  the  Appointment  of  such  inferior 
Officers,  as  they  think  proper,  in  the  President 
alone,  in  the  Courts  of  Law,  or  in  the  Heads 
of  Departments. 

3 ,  The  President  shall  have  Power  to  fill  up 
all  Vacancies  that  may  happen  during  the 
Recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  Commissions 
which  shall  expire  at  the  End  of  their  next 
Session. 

SECTION  III 

I.  He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the 
Congress  Information  of  the  State  of  the 
Union,  and  recommend  to  their  Consideration 
such  Measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and 
expedient;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  Occa- 
sions, convene  both  Houses,  or  either  of  them, 
and  in  Case  of  Disagreement  between  them, 
with  Respect  to  the  Time  of  Adjournment,  he 
may  adjourn  them  to  such  Time  as  he  shall 
281 


Constitution  of  ti^t 


think  proper;  he  shall  receive  Ambassadors 
and  other  public  Ministers;  he  shall  take  Care 
that  the  Laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall 
Commission  all  the  Officers  of  the  United 
States. 

SECTION  IV 

I.  The  President,  Vice  President  and  all 
civil  Officers  of  the  United  States,  shall  be 
removed  from  Office  on  Impeachment  for,  and 
Conviction  of.  Treason,  Bribery,  or  other  high 
Crimes  and  Misdemeanors. 


ARTICLE  III 

SECTION  I 

I.  The  judicial  Power  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  vested  in  one  supreme  Court,  and  in 
such  inferior  Courts  as  the  Congress  may 
from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish.  The 
Judges,  both  of  the  supreme  and  inferior 
Courts,  shall  held  their  Offices  during  good 
Behaviour,  and  shall,  at  stated  Times,  receive 
for  their  Services,  a  Compensation,  which 
shall  not  be  diminished  during  their  Continu- 
ance in  Office. 

SECTION  n 

I.  The  judicial  Power  shall  extend  to  all 
Cases,  in  Law  and  Equity,  arising  under  this 
Constitution,  the  Laws  of  the  United  States, 
and  Treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made, 

282 


eniteti  ^tateief— 1787 


under  their  Authority; — to  all  Cases  affecting 
Ambassadors,  other  public  Ministers  and  Con- 
suls;— to  all  Cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime 
Jurisdiction; — to  Controversies  to  which  the 
United  States  shall  be  a  Party; — to  Controver- 
sies between  two  or  more  States; — between  a 
State  and  Citizens  of  another  State; — between 
Citizens  of  different  States, — between  Citizens 
of  the  same  State  claiming  Lands  under  Grants 
of  different  States,  and  between  a  State,  or 
the  Citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  States,  Citi- 
zens or  Subjects. 

2.  In  all  Cases  affecting  Ambassadors, 
other  public  Ministers  and  Consuls,  and  those 
in  which  a  State  shall  be  Party,  the  supreme 
Court  shall  have  original  Jurisdiction.  In  all 
the  other  Cases  before  mentioned,  the  supreme 
Court  shall  have  appellate  Jurisdiction,  both 
as  to  Law  and  Fact,  with  such  Exceptions, 
and  under  such  Regulations  as  the  Congress 
shall  make. 

3.  The  Trial  of  all  Crimes,  except  in  Cases 
of  Impeachment,  shall  be  by  Jury;  and  such 
Trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the  said 
Crimes  shall  have  been  committed;  but  when 
not  committed  within  any  State,  the  Trial 
shall  be  at  such  Place  or  Places  as  the  Con- 
gress may  by  Law  have  directed. 

SECTION  III 

I.  Treason  against  the  United  States,  shall 
consist  only  in  levying  War  against  them,  or 

283 


Constitution  of  ti^t 


in  adhering  to  their  Enemies,  giving  them  Aid 
and  Comfort.  No  Person  shall  be  convicted 
of  Treason  unless  on  the  Testimony  of  two 
Witnesses  to  the  same  overt  Act,  or  on  Con- 
fession in  open  Court. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  Power  to  de- 
clare the  Punishment  of  Treason,  but  no 
Attainder  of  Treason  shall  work  Corruption 
of  Blood,  or  Forfeiture  except  during  the  Life 
of  the  Person  attainted. 


ARTICLE  IV 


SECTION  I 


I.  Full  Faith  and  Credit  shall  be  given  in 
each  State  to  the  public  Acts,  Records,  and 
judicial  Proceedings  of  every  other  State. 
And  the  Congress  may  by  general  Laws  pre- 
scribe the  Manner  in  which  such  Acts,  Rec- 
ords and  Proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and 
the  Effect  thereof. 

SECTION  II 

1.  The  Citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  en- 
titled to  all  Privileges  and  Immunities  of  Citi- 
zens in  the  several  States. 

2.  A  person  charged  in  any  State  with 
Treason,  Felony,  or  other  Crime,  who  shall 
flee  from  Justice,  and  be  found  in  another 
State,  shall  on  Demand  of  the  executive 
Authority  of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be 

284 


aniteD  ^tate^— 1787 


delivered  up  to  be  removed  to  the  State  having 
Jurisdiction  of  the  Crime. 

3.  No  Person  held  to  Service  or  Labour  in 
one  State,  under  the  Laws  thereof,  escaping 
into  another,  shall,  in  Consequence  of  any 
Law  or  Regulation  therein,  be  discharged 
from  such  Service  or  Labour,  but  shall  be  de- 
livered up  on  Claim  of  the  Party  to  whom 
such  Service  or  Labour  may  be  due. 

SECTION  III 

1.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the 
Congress  into  this  Union;  but  no  new  State 
shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the  Jurisdic- 
tion of  any  other  State;  nor  any  State  be 
formed  by  the  Junction  of  two  or  more  States, 
or  Parts  of  States,  without  the  Consent  of  the 
Legislatures  of  the  States  concerned  as  well 
as  of  the  Congress. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  Power  to  dis- 
pose of  and  make  all  needful  Rules  and  Regu- 
lations respecting  the  Territory  or  other  Prop- 
erty belonging  to  the  United  States;  and 
nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall  be  so  con- 
strued as  to  Prejudice  any  Claims  of  the 
United  States,  or  of  any  particular  State. 

SECTION  IV 

I.  The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to 
every  State  in  this  Union  a  Republican  Form 
of  Government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them 
against  Invasion;  and  on  Application  of  the 

285 


Constitution  of  tt^t 


Legislature,  or  of  the  Executive  (when  the 
Legislature  cannot  be  convened)  against  do- 
mestic Violence. 

ARTICLE  V 

I.  The  Congress,  whenever  two  thirds  of 
both  Houses  shall  deem  it  necessary,  shall 
propose  Amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or, 
on  the  Application  of  the  Legislatures  of  two 
thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall  call  a  Con- 
vention for  proposing  Amendments,  which,  in 
either  Case,  shall  be  valid  to  all  Intents  and 
Purposes,  as  Part  of  this  Constitution,  when 
ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of  three  fourths  of 
the  several  States,  or  by  Conventions  in  three 
fourths  thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  Mode 
of  Ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the  Con- 
gress; Provided  that  no  Amendment  which 
may  be  made  prior  to  the  Year  One  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any  Manner 
affect  the  first  and  fourth  Clauses  in  the  Ninth 
Section  of  the  first  Article;  and  that  no  State, 
without  its  Consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its 
equal  Suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

ARTICLE  VI 

I.  All  Debts  contracted  and  Engagements 
entered  into,  before  the  Adoption  of  this  Con- 
stitution, shall  be  as  valid  against  the  United 
States  under  this  Constitution,  as  under  the 
Confederation. 

286 


eniteH  M>tatt0— 17 87 


2.  This  Constitution,  and  the  Laws  of  the 
United  States  which  shall  be  made  in  Pursu- 
ance thereof;  and  all  Treaties  made,  or  which 
shall  be  made,  under  the  Authority  of  the 
United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  Law  of 
the  Land;  and  the  Judges  in  every  State  shall 
be  bound  thereby,  any  Thing  in  the  Constitu- 
tion or  Laws  of  any  State  to  the  Contrary  not- 
withstanding. 

3 .  The  Senators  and  Representatives  before 
mentioned,  and  the  Members  of  the  several 
State  Legislatures,  and  all  executive  and  judi- 
cial Officers,  both  of  the  United  States  and  of 
the  several  States,  shall  be  bound  by  Oath  or 
Affirmation,  to  support  this  Constitution;  but 
no  religious  Test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a 
Qualification  to  any  Office  or  public  Trust 
under  the  United  States. 


ARTICLE  VII 

I.  The  ratification  of  the  Conventions  of 
nine  States  shall  be  sufficient  for  the  Estab- 
lishment of  this  Constitution  between  the 
States  so  ratifying  the  Same. 


Done  in  Convention  by  the  Unanimous  Con- 
sent of  the  States  present  the  Seventeenth 
Day  of  September  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  Eighty  seven, 

287 


Constitution  of  tl)e 


and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States 
of  America  the  Twelfth     3ln  WttttrHS  whereof 
We  have  hereunto  subscribed  our  Names, 
G°:  Washington — 
Presidt.  and  Deputy  from  Virginia 

New  Hampshire 
John  Langdon  Nicholas  Gilman 

Massaclmsetts 
Nathaniel  Gorham  Rufus  King 

Connecticut 
Wm.  Saml.  Johnson  Roger  Sherman 

New  York 
Alexander  Hamilton 

New  Jersey 

Wil:  Livingston  Wm.  Paterson 

David  Brearley  Jona:  Dayton 

Pennsylvania 

B.  Franklin  Thos.  Fitzsimons 

Thomas  Mifflin  Jared  Ingersoll 

RoBT.  Morris  James  Wilson 

Geo.  Clymer  Gouv  Morris 

Delaware 

Geo:  Read  Richard  Bassett 

Gunning  Bedford  Jun         Jaco:  Broom 
John  Dickinson 

Maryland 

James  McHenry  Danl.  Carroll 

Dan  of  St  Thos  Jenifer 

Virginia 
John  Blair  James  Madison  Jr 

North  Carolina 

Wm.  Blount  Hu  Williamson 

Richd.  Dobbs  Spaight 


Bnittb  ^tate^— 1787 


South  Carolina 

J.  RuTLEDGE  Charles  Pinckney 

Charles  Cotesworth  Pierce  Butler 

Pinckney 

Georgia 
William  Few  Abr  Baldwin 

Attest  WILLIAM  JACKSON  Secreiarj' 


289 


atmentimentief  to  t^t  Constitution 


ARTICLES  IN  ADDITION  TO,  AND  AMENDMENT  OF, 
THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF 
AMERICA,  PROPOSED  BY  CONGRESS,  AND  RATI- 
FIED BY  THE  LEGISLATURES  OF  THE  SEVERAL 
STATES  PURSUANT  TO  THE  FIFTH  ARTICLE  OF 
THE  ORIGINAL  CONSTITUTION. 

ARTICLE  I* 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an 
establishment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the 
free  exercise  thereof;  or  abridging  the  free- 
dom of  speech,  or  of  the  press;  or  the  right 
of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to 
petition  the  Government  for  a  redress  of  griev- 
ances. 

ARTICLE  II 

A  well  regulated  Militia,  being  necessary  to 
the  security  of  a  free  State,  the  right  of  the 

*  The  first  ten  amendments  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  were  proposed  to  the  legislatures  of  the  several 
States  by  the  First  Congress,  on  the  25th  of  September,  i78g. 
They  were  ratified  by  the  following  States,  and  the  notifica- 
tions of  ratification  by  the  governors  thereof  were  successively 
communicated  by  the  President  to  Congress:  New  Jersey, 
November  20,  i78g;  Maryland,  December  ig,  i78g;  North  Caro- 
lina, December  22,  i78g;  South  Carolina,  January  ig,  i7go;  New 
Hampshire,  January  25,  i7go;  Delaware,  January  28,  i7go; 
Pennsylvania,  March  10,  i7go;  New  York,  March  27,  1790; 
Rhode  Island,  June  15,  i7go;  Vermont,  November  3,  i7gi,  and 
Virginia,  December  15,  i7gi.  There  is  no  evidence  on  the 
journals  of  Congress  that  the  legislatures  of  Connecticut,  Geor- 
gia, and  Massachusetts  ratified  them. 

291 


^(.menDment^  to  tlje  Constitution 

people  to  keep  and  bear  Arms,  shall  not  be 
infringed. 

ARTICLE  III 

No  Soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace  be  quar- 
tered in  any  house,  without  the  consent  of  the 
Owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner 
to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

ARTICLE  IV 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their 
persons,  houses,  papers,  and  effects,  against 
unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not 
be  violated,  and  no  Warrants  shall  issue,  but 
upon  probable  cause,  supported  by  Oath  or 
affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the 
place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things 
to  be  seized. 

ARTICLE  V 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a 
capital,  or  otherwise  infamous  crime,  unless 
on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  Grand 
Jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or 
naval  forces,  or  in  the  Militia,  when  in  actual 
service  in  time  of  War  or  public  danger;  nor 
shall  any  person  be  subject  for  the  same 
offence  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or 
limb;  nor  shall  be  compelled  in  any  Criminal 
Case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be 
deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without 

292 


gtmenPmentjS?  to  tt^t  €onje?tttutton 

due  process  of  law;  nor  shall  private  property 
be  taken  for  public  use,  without  just  compen- 
sation. 

ARTICLE  VI 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused 
shall  enjoy  the  right  to  a  speedy  and  public 
trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and  dis- 
trict wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  com- 
mitted, which  district  shall  have  been  previously 
ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the 
nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation ;  to  be  con- 
fronted with  the  witnesses  against  him;  to 
have  compulsory  process  for  obtaining  Wit- 
nesses in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the  Assistance 
of  Counsel  for  his  defence. 

ARTICLE  VII 

In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in 
controversy  shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the 
right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved,  and 
no  fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re- 
examined in  any  Court  of  the  United  States, 
than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  common 
law. 

ARTICLE  VIII 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  ex- 
cessive fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual 
punishments  inflicted. 


293 


amendment?  to  ti^t  Constitution 


ARTICLE  IX 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution,  of 
certain  rights,  shall  not  be  construed  to  deny 
or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people. 

ARTICLE  X 

The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United 
States  by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by 
it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States 
respectively,  or  to  the  people. 

ARTICLE  XI 

The  Judicial  power  of  the  United  States 
shall  not  be  construed  to  extend  to  any  suit 
in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted 
against  one  of  the  United  States  by  Citizens 
of  another  State,  or  by  Citizens  or  Subjects  of 
any  Foreign  State. 

ARTICLE  XII 

The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective 
states,  and  vote  by  ballot  for  President  and 
Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall 
not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  state  with 
themselves;  they  shall  name  in  their  ballots 
the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and  in  dis- 
tinct ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice- 
President,    and  they  shall  make  distinct  hsts 

294 


gtmcnUmcnt^  to  tl)e  Constitution 

of  all  persons  voted  for  as  President,  and  of 
all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and 
of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  which  lists 
they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit 
sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  directed  to  the  President  of 
the  Senate; — The  President  of  the  Senate 
shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates 
and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted; — The 
person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes 
for  President,  shall  be  the  President,  if  such 
number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of 
Electors  appointed;  and  if  no  person  have 
such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having 
the  highest  numbers  not  exceeding  three  on 
the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the 
House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  imme- 
diately, by  ballot,  the  President.  But  in 
choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be 
taken  by  states,  the  representation  from  each 
state  having  one  vote;  a  quorum  for  this  pur- 
pose shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members 
from  two-thirds  of  the  states,  and  a  majority 
of  all  the  states  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 
And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not 
choose  a  President  whenever  the  right  of 
choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before  the 
fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the 
Vice-President  shall  act  as  President,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional 
disability  of  the  President.     The  person  having 

295 


amentmient^  to  tl)c  Constitution 

the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  Vice-Presi- 
dent, shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such 
number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of 
Electors  appointed,  and  if  no  person  have  a 
majority,  then  from  the  two  highest  numbers 
on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice- 
President;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall 
consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of 
Senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  whole  number 
shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  But  no  person 
constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  XIII 

SECTION  I 

I.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servi- 
tude, except  as  a  punishment  for  crime  whereof 
the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall 
exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place 
subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

SECTION  II 

I.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce 
this  article  by  appropriate  legislation. 

ARTICLE  XIV 

SECTION  I 

I.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the 
United  States,  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction 

296 


aimmtiment^  to  t^e  Constitution 

thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and 
of  the  State  wherein  they  reside.  No  State 
shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall 
abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens 
of  the  United  States;  nor  shall  any  State 
deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  prop- 
erty, without  due  process  of  law;  nor  deny  to 
any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the  equal 
protection  of  the  laws. 

SECTION  II 

I.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  States  according  to  their 
respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole  num- 
ber of  persons  in  each  State,  excluding  Indians 
not  taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote  at  any 
election  for  the  choice  of  electors  for  Presi- 
dent and  Vice  President  of  the  United  States, 
Representatives  in  Congress,  the  Executive 
and  Judicial  officers  of  a  State,  or  the  members 
of  the  Legislature  thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of 
the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State,  being 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  or  in  any  way  abridged,  except 
for  participation  in  rebellion,  or  other  crime, 
the  basis  of  Representation  therein  shall  be 
reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the  number 
of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole 
number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of 
age  in  such  State. 


297 


a^mentiment^  to  tt)e  Conje^titution 


SECTION  III 

I.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  or  Repre- 
sentative in  Congress,  or  elector  of  President 
and  Vice  President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil 
or  military,  under  the  United  States,  or  under 
any  State,  who,  having  previously  taken  an 
oath,  as  a  member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  offi- 
cer of  the  United  States,  or  as  a  member  of 
any  State  Legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or 
judicial  officer  of  any  State,  to  support  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  shall  have 
engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the 
same,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies 
thereof.  But  Congress  may  by  a  vote  of  two- 
thirds  of  each  House,  remove  such  disabihty. 

SECTION  IV 

I.  The  vaUdity  of  the  public  debt  of  the 
United  States,  authorized  by  law,  including 
debts  incurred  for  payment  of  pensions  and 
bounties  for  services  in  suppressing  insurrec- 
tion or  rebellion,  shall  not  be  questioned.  But 
neither  the  United  States  nor  any  State  shall 
assume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred 
in  aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the 
United  States,  or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or 
emancipation  of  any  slave;  but  all  such  debts, 
obligations  and  claims  shall  be  held  illegal  and 
void. 


298 


3lmmlimcntj0?  to  tlje  Couieftitution 


SECTION  V 

I.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  en- 
force, by  appropriate  legislation,  the  provi- 
sions of  this  article. 


ARTICLE  XV 

SECTION  I 

I.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged 
by  the  United  States  or  by  any  State  on  ac- 
count of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of 
servitude. 

SECTION  II 

I.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  en- 
force this  article  by  appropriate  legislation. 


299 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


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